Natasha Palha bags memorable double crown

Pune, Jun 2 (UNI) Wild card entrant Natasha Palha of Goa bagged a memorable double crown winning the girl's singles title and the doubles title both while Rohit Bisht taught his younger brother Ronit a lesson by winning the boys singles title today in the PYC Gymkhana-Bilcare Asian Under-14 Series Tennis Tournament here.

In the finals today, Natasha Palha blanked out Ankita Raina of Gujarat 6-0, 6-0, while Rohit beat his brother Ronit 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 to win the title and take home 300 ATF points. The runners-up received 200 points.

Palha an eighth standard student, ended a memorable season winning her third crown in Maharashtra this summer. Earlier, she had won the Championship series at the Willingdon Club and Priyadarshini Park tournament in Mumbai. ''This trophy however is most prestigious to me as this is my first win at an international level,'' said Natasha who practices with her brother and sister on a court built behind her house near Dona Paula.

It was another final for the Bisht brothers who played more like opponents than brothers in the final. The brothers showed no mercy while playing each other and went for the kill. However, the elder of the two, Rohit, used all his experience and strength to stop the winning run of Ronit to lift the second title in the series. He had earlier won in Indonesia.

Following are the results: Girls (Finals): Natasha Palla bt Ankita Raina 6-0, 6-0.

Boys (Finals): Rohit Bisht bt Ronit Bisht 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

Most Promising Player Trophy (Boys): Arjun Kadhe.

Most Promising Player Trophy (Girls): Namita Bal.

Sportsmanship Award: R Mohit Mayur.

UNI