Sweet win: Indian teams celebrate their victory with coaches Asha Sharma and Indra Kumar Mahajan.
The Indian boys and girls teams won the gold in the South Asia under-12 tennis championships in Kathmandu.
The boys team of Puneeth Manohar, Aarav Chhallani and Yuvaan Garg beat Pakistan 2-0 in the final, after having defeated Sri Lanka 3-0 in the semifinals. In the league phase, India downed Bangladesh and Maldives 3-0 each, dropping just one game in six matches.
The girls team of Srishti Kiran, Khushi Kadian and Sarena Gahlot, won the title by topping the round-robin league, defeating Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangaladesh and Nepal, dropping one set in all.
The top two teams from the competition will make it to the Asian under-12 championship to be hosted later in Kazakhstan.
“We are immensely proud of our young athletes. Their dedication, team work and spirit have led to this remarkable achievement. We look forward to seeing them succeed in Kazakhstan,” Anil Dhupar, AITA secretary general, said.
The results: Boys (final): India bt Pakistan 2-0 (Puneeth Manohar bt Rashid Ali 6-0, 6-0; Aarav Chhallani bt Muhammad Shayan 6-4, 6-3).
Semifinals: India bt Sri Lanka 3-0 (Puneeth bt Akilesh Thalammeharage 6-0, 6-0; Aarav bt Buvindu Jayawardhana 6-1, 6-1; Yuvaan Garg & Puneeth bt Revaan Amarasinghe & Akilesh 6-2, 6-2).
League: India bt Bangladesh 3-0 (Puneeth bt Muhammad Haider 6-0, 6-0; Aarav bt Md. Jobair Islam 6-0, 6-0; Yuvaan & Puneeth bt Muhammad Haider & Md. Islam 6-0, 6-1).
India bt Maldives 3-0 (Puneeth bt Yousuf Salaam 6-0, 6-0; Aarav bt Alson Mohamed 6-0, 6-0; Yuvaan & Puneeth bt Alson & Luke Muzzamil 6-0, 6-0).
Girls (league): India bt Sri Lanka 2-0 (Srishti Kiran bt Sanuthi Liang Wong 6-0 (retired); Khushi Kadian bt Sahansa Pelandage 5-7, 6-3, 6-3).
India bt Maldives 3-0 (Srishti bt Kanza Hameed 6-0, 6-0; Khushi bt Clara Asif 6-0, 6-0; Sarena Gahlot & Srishti bt Kanza Hameed & Maisha Madhih 6-0, 6-0).
India bt Bangladesh 3-0 (Srishti bt Sara Al Jasim 6-0, 6-1; Khushi bt Jannat Howlader 6-0, 6-0; Sarena & Srishti bt Mastora Afrin & Sara Jasim 6-0, 6-1).
India bt Nepal 3-0 (Srishti bt G.C. Aayusha 6-0, 6-0; Khushi bt Anushree Dhoju 6-2, 6-0; Sarena & Srishti bt Anushree Dhoju & Sara Panta 6-1, 6-0).
