Host Odisha achieved notable success by bagging three titles in singles and sharing two in doubles vents of the AITA U-12 & U-16 Talent Series Tennis Tournament, which concluded here at Kalinga Stadium Tennis Complex today. Among Odisha players, Simran Neha Ekka clinched a double, emerging both singles and doubles champion in under-16 girls’ group.

Pratyush Mohanty and Sohini Mohanty won the other two singles crowns for Odisha in under-16 boys’ and under-12 girls’ categories respectively. The host state missed another two singles titles as Stevan Ankit Ekka and Ashish Kumar Parida lost in under-12 and under-16 boys’ finals respectively.

In doubles, Odisha shared two doubles titles as Kaamlesh Rath emerged U-12 boys’ doubles champion with Assam partner Ved Aditya Kalinta, while Simran Neha Ekka claimed the U-16 girls’ doubles title with West Bengal partner Sanya Yadav.

Odisha players also also reached finals in two other doubles events, but only to settle as runners-up. Bighnesh Nanda lost in the U-16 boys’ doubles final with West Bengal partner Mohammad Arib Afzal, while Archita Sahoo went down in U-16 girls’ dibbles title clash with Charlotte Liu of West Bengal as her partner. Title winners and runners-up gained 15 and 12 AITA raniking points respectively.

Around 150 players from East Zone states of Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha joined the tournament, which commenced earlier on April 30. Organised by Tennis Association of Bhubaneswar (TAB), under the aegis of Odisha Tennis Association (OTA), the tournament was sponsored by Milk Mantra, Life Style Properties and Decathlon.

Milk Mantra Sales Head Swayam Prakash Mishra handed over the trophies in the presence of TAB president Girija Shankar Acharya, vice-president Biswajit Rath, secretary Bijaya Kumar Sahoo, tournament director Dr Nagaraju M and tournament referee Jatin Batsya.

RESULTS (All Finals):

U-12 Boys Singles: Arnav Manral (WB) beat Stevan Ankit Ekka (OD) 6-3, 6-2.
U-16 Boys Singles: Pratyush Mohanty (OD) bt Ashish Kumar Parida (OD) 6-1, 6-0.
U-12 Girls Singles: Sohini Sanjay Mohanty (OD) bt Charlotte Liu (WB) 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.
U-16 Girls Singles: Simran Neha Ekka (OD) bt Sanya Yadav (WB) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
U-12 Boys Doubles: Kaamlesh Rath-Ved Aditya Kalita (OD-AS) beat Mayand Tewary-Vedaant Agarwal (WB) 6-2, 6-0.
U-16 Boys Doubles: Rounak Ghosh-Wyatt Obrien (WB) beat Bighnesh Nanda-Md Arib Afzal (OD-WB) 6-1, 6-1.
U-16 Girls Doubles: Simran Neha Ekka-Sanya Yadav (OD-WB) beat Archita Sahoo-Charlotte Liu (OD-WB) 6-0, 6-2.
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PHOTO: Prize winners with guests and organising officials in Bhubaneswar on May 4, 2018.