Tennis Premier League: Hyderabad Strikers beats Mumbai Leon Army to defend title

Conny Perrin was declared the “player of the match” in the final, while the honour went to Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan in the two semifinals.

Hyderabad Strikers, the champion of Tennis Premier League in Pune. From left, Sriram Balaji, Niki Poonacha, Conny Perrin and coach Suresh Krishna. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Conny Perrin was at her fluent best as Hyderabad Strikers beat Mumbai Leon Army 41-32 to emerge champion in the fourth edition of Tennis Premier League at the Balewadi Stadium on Sunday night.

With rain causing a delay in the semifinals, the lively event culminated close to midnight, much to the jubilation of Hyderabad which was ably served by Sriram Balaji and Niki Poonacha as well.

Conny won her singles 13-7 against Akanksha Nitture, who came in place of Valeriya Strakhova. Ramkumar Ramanathan bridged the gap for Mumbai by beating Niki Poonacha 12-8.

However, Conny and Balaji combined smartly to outwit Akanksha and Jeevan 13-7. That meant Hyderabad needed only seven points in the men’s doubles to seal victory, while Mumbai needed 14 points from the duo of Ramkumar and Jeevan. Niki placed a crisp volley to close the contest 7-6. Hyderabad thus successfully defended its crown won last year.

Mumbai had done very well to scrape through the semifinals earlier against Bengaluru Spartans, winning the last point, for a 41-39 triumph.

The champion team was presented ten lakh rupees and the runner-up, five lakh. Conny Perrin was declared the “player of the match” in the final, while the honour went to Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan in the two semifinals.

The concurrently held TPL Plus event, a platform for the juniors, witnessed Mumbai Leon Army emerging the champion.

The results: Final: Hyderabad Strikers bt Mumbai Leon Army 41-32 (Conny Perrin bt Akanksha NItture 13-7; Niki Poonacha lost to Ramkumar Ramanathan 8-12; Conny & Sriram Balaji bt Akanksha & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 13-7; Poonacha & Balaji bt Ramkumar & Jeevan 7-6).

Semifinals: Hyderabad Strikers bt Chennai Stallions 48-32 (Conny Perrin tied with Ekaterina Kazionova 10-10; Poonacha bt Mathias Bourgue 13-7; Conny & Balaji bt Kazionova & Anirudh Chandrashekhar 13-7; Poonacha & Balaji bt Bourgue & Anirudh 12-8).

Mumbai Leon Army bt Bengaluru Spartans 41-39 (Akanksha Nitture lost to Karman Thandi 7-13; Ramkumar bt Sidharth Rawat 11-9; Akanksha & Jeevan bt Vishnu Vardhan & Karman 12-8; Ramkumar & Jeevan bt Vishnu & Sidharth 11-9).