Pune: Sahita Upsets Top Seed Paparkar at Gadre Seafoods-MSLTA ITF Grade 3 Junior Tennis Championship

Pune, 4th December 2024: Samarth Sahita delivered a major upset by defeating top seed Arnav Paparkar to reach the singles quarterfinals at the Gadre Seafoods-MSLTA ITF Junior Grade 3 U18 Tennis Championship for the MV Deo Trophy. The tournament is being organized by Deccan Gymkhana under the auspices of ITF, AITA, and PMDTA at the Deccan Gymkhana Tennis Courts.

In a dramatic match, unseeded Sahita used his powerful single-handed backhand to overcome the Pune-based top seed Paparkar, winning 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-2 in a closely contested battle.

Another highlight of the day was Arjun Rathi, who continued his excellent form from recent weeks, defeating third seed Cody Atkinson from New Zealand 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. Emerging junior player Vihaan Reddy of the USA added to the upsets, ousting eighth seed Russian Egor Shcherbakov with a commanding 6-4, 6-4 victory.

In the girls’ section, Russian player Nelli Ivanova stunned fifth seed Laxmisiri Dandu with a 6-3, 7-6(3) win to advance to the quarterfinals. Kolhapur’s Aishwarya Jadhav continued her strong run, eliminating seventh seed Haritha Shree Venkatesh 7-5, 6-3. Meanwhile, Sai Janhavi defeated sixth seed Eva Kaliadina of Russia 6-3, 6-2 to secure her spot in the last eight.

Results: Main Draw, Second Round
Boys:
Samarth Sahita (IND) bt Arnav Paparkar (IND) [1] 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-2
Arjun Rathi (IND) bt Cody Atkinson (NZL) [3] 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
Fedor Altukhov bt Shanker Heisnam (IND) 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3
Aaron Gabet (FRA) [5] bt Venkat Rishi Batlanki (USA) 6-3, 3-0 (retd)
Vihaan Reddy (USA) bt Egor Shcherbakov (RUS) [8] 6-4, 6-4
Sehaj Singh Pawar (IND) [7] bt Izyan Ahmad (USA) 6-2, 6-4
Alan Aiukhanov (RUS) [2] bt Kandhavel Mahalingam Akilandeshwari (IND) 6-1, 5-7, 6-2
Arjun Pandit (IND) [6] bt Snir Morag (IND) 7-6(5), 7-6(6)

Girls:
Rishitha Reddy Basireddy (IND) [2] bt Cocomi Saito (JPN) 6-3, 6-3
Nelli Ivanova bt Laxmisiri Dandu (IND) [5] 6-3, 7-6(3)
Aishwarya Jadhav (IND) bt Haritha Shree Venkatesh (IND) [7] 7-5, 6-3
Sai Janhavi (IND) bt Eva Kaliadina (RUS) [6] 6-3, 6-2
Parthsarthi Mundhe (IND) bt Sarvagnya Kilaru (IND) 6-2, 6-0
Nainika Reddy Bendram (IND) bt Snigdha Kanta (IND) 6-2, 6-4
Yasaman Yazdani (IRI) [4] bt Yuzuha Negishi (JPN) 6-4, 7-5