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Promising Odisha tennis player Aradhyaa Verma clinched a glorious junior international double crown, winning both girls singles and doubles titles at the ITF World Juniors J30 Tournament in Abuja, Nigeria on 18 June 2023. Both are maiden International Tennis Federation (ITF) Juniors titles for Bhubaneswar girl Aradhyaa.
She won the singles final, beating Alisha Ndukwu (Great Britain) 6-1, 6-4. For Aradhyaa, this was her first win in three meetings against Alisha, who had won their previous two encounters in the ITF J30 Tournaments in Abuja earlier this month.
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In the latest tournament, Aradhyaa won three matches before setting up the singles title clash against Alisha. On her way to the final, Aradhyaa beat Oluwanifemi Idowu Lagundoye (Nigeria) 6-1, 6-1 in first round, Etoro Emmanuel Bassey (Nigeria) 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinals and Khadijat Muhammad (Nigeria) 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals.
Aradhya won the doubles title with Egypt partner Habiba Habib, defeating Great Britain-Austria combination of Ava Austerberry and Eliana Chrys-Chikere in the final 6-4, 6-3. Accompanied by her father, Captain Mukesh Verma, Aradhya played three ITF Junior J30 tournaments in Abuja this month.
Before travelling to Nigeria, Aradhya won her second continental title by emerging singles champion at the Asian U-14 Tennis Tournament in Nonthaburi, Thailand on 19 May 2023. She had claimed her maiden Asian U-14 title by emerging doubles champion in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh in June 2022.
Though playing international tournaments is very expensive, Aradhyaa has managed to come thus far only because of the support of her family. She has not received any funding from the State Government despite applying for the same in official procedure.
With two Asian U-14 and two ITF World Junior titles in her kitty, hopefully the Department of Sports & Youth Services, Government of Odisha, will come to her support now. The support by the Sports Department is sure to help talented player win greater laurels for the State and the country in the future.
Apart from the four international titles, Aradhyaa has to her name as many as 14 All-India (AITA) titles so far, including a gold medal in Khelo India Youth Games in Indore, Madhya Pradesh earlier this year. Student of KIIT International School, Aradhyaa has been training at the Bhubaneswar-based academy of leading Odisha tennis coach Farhan Ali.
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TOP: Aradyaa Verma poses with her two ITF Juniors trophies in Abuja, Nigeria on 18 June 2023.
RIGHT: Aradyaa Verma poses with her Asian U-14 singles trophy in Nonthaburi, Thailand on 19 May 2023.
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