M. Theertha Shashank gave tough fight before going down to top seed Mrutunjay Bodola 7-5, 3-6, 4-6 in the semifinals of the ITF Juniors Grade 5 tournament held at Khatmandu in Nepal.
Shashank was superior in the first set with some timely shots and deft drops to take it 7-5.
However, Mrutunjay fought back well to emerge the winner. He pulled out his best efforts and was patient enough to score points effectively to take the next two sets at 6-3, 6-4 and with them, the match.
Earlier in the quarterfinal, Shashank toppled Poland’s Michal Woznaik with a 6-3, 7-5 scoreline. Shashank took the first set comfortably before battling it out in the second to clinch it. The second set saw a good fight but Shashank focussed better and made good use of his attacking approach to edge ahead of his rival.
Just like the quarterfinal match, his encounter with Guanglin Wen of China in the pre-quarterfinals also lasted two sets as Shashank won 6-1, 7-6 (8-6). Shashank’s allround game made it too difficult for Wen to pick points in the first set. Despite a tough fight back Wen lost the second set in the tie-breaker.
In the doubles category, Shashank paired with Kabir Manrai but lost to Piyush Salekar and Aditya Ayer 4-6, 4-6 verdict. The same duo had sealed a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Sakchham and Pratyush Mohanty in the pre-quarterfinals.
The Results
- Boys singles semifinals: Mruthyunjay Bodola (Seed 1) (India) bt M. Theertha Shashank (3) (India) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
- Boys singles quarterfinals: M. Theertha Shashank (India) bt Michal Woznaik (Poland) 6-3, 7-5.
- Boys doubles quarterfinals: Piyush Salekar (India)/ Aditya Ayer (India) bt M Theertha Shashank (India)/ Kabir Manrai (India) 6-4 6-4
- Boys singles pre-quarterfinals: M. Theertha Shashank (India) bt Guanglin Wen (China) 6-1, 7-6(8-6).
- Boys doubles pre-quarterfinals: M. Theertha Shashank (India)/ Kabir Manrai (India) bt Sakchham Karki (Nepal)/ Pratyush Mohanty (India) 6-0, 6-2.
- Boys singles (first round): M. Theertha Shashank (India) bt Sakchham Karki (Nepal) 6-1, 6-1.
