Rubal, T Nilaya u-19 champs in national school games tennis

Mumbai, Dec 24 (UNI) Delhi's Rubal Shandilya and Andhra Predesh's T Nilaya emerged supreme in the Boys&Girls under-19 age group, winning the singles title with convincing wins in the Rs 2 lakh Prize Money HDIL National School Games Tennis Tournament at the tennis courts of the Hansraj Morarjee Public School here today.

The lone victory for Maharashtra in the singles competition came through top seed Vishal Passi, who beat AP's Y Simran 8-5 in the boys under-14 final.

The Maharashtra girls featured in three finals, but could manage to win only one title, which came in the under-19 age category. The state boys won the team championship in the under-14 category to salvage some pride for the host state.

The tennis displayed by the boys under-19 finalists will not be remembered for good strokeplay but for the tantrums on court, with both players arguing with the umpires and even throwing their racquets in frustration.

It was Ahuja who got off to a good start, jumping to a 4-1 lead, but his poor temperament did him in as he began losing his cool and with it crucial points to give his opponent from Delhi the upper hand.

Rubal began getting his winners in and took six games in a two for a 7-4 lead before wrapping up the match 8-5. Runbal won Rs 5,000 and a trophy for his efforts, while Ahuja had to settle for Rs 3,000.

Tennis stars Mahesh Bhupati and Karan Rastogi, actress Bhoomika Chawla and MP Priya Dutt presided over the prize distribution function.

Following are the results: Boys u-19 (Final): Rubal Shandilya (Delhi) bt Sagar Ahuja (MAH) 8-5.

S/F: Sagar Ahuja (MAH) bt Monal Chillar (Delhi) 6-4, Rubal Shandilya (Delhi) bt Rohan Shah (MP) 6-1.

Boys u-17 (Final): Samip Mehta (GUJ) bt Vaidik Munshaw (GUJ) 8-5.

S/F: Vaidik Munshaw (GUJ) bt Pradip Reddy (AP) 6-2; Samip Mehta (GUJ) bt M D Asroff (TN) 6-1.

Boys u-14 (Final): Vishal Passi (MAH) bt Y Sriman (AP) 8-5.

S/F: Vishal Passi (MAH) bt Pankaj Kumar (CHN) 6-2; Y Sriman (AP) bt Ayush Mintri (Punjab) 6-0.

Girls u-19 (Final): T Nilaya (AP) bt Prachi Nadkarni (MAH) 8-4.

S/F: T Nilaya (AP) bt Radhika Jadhav (MAH) 6-3; Prachi Nadkarni (MAH) bt Saadgi Rajani (Gujarat) 6-4.

Girls u-17 (Final): Shweta Rana (Delhi) bt Nova Patel (GUJ) 8-2.

S/F: Shweta Rana (Delhi) bt Mehak (CHN) 6-4; Nova Patel (GUJ) bt Nupur Kaul (MAH) 6-4.

Girls u-14 (Final): Manya Negpal (Delhi) bt Pooja Kudeshi (MP) 8-1.

S/F: Manya Negpal (Delhi) bt Eeeti Mehta (Gujarat) 6-2; Pooja Kudeshi (MP) bt Gauri Baindoor (MAH) 6-4.

Team Championship (Finals): Boys u-19: Delhi bt Andhra Pradesh 2-1 (Monal Chillar lost to S V Abhishek 3-6, 4-6; Rubal Shandilya bt D. Vasu 6-4, 6-0; Monal Chillar/ Rubal Shandilya bt S.V.Abhishek/ Kaushik Reddy 6-3, 6-1).

Boys u-17: Gujarat bt Assam 2-0 (Vaidik Munshaw bt Trinivan Taliwar 2-6, 6-0, 6-1; Samip Mehta bt Rupam Gogoi 6-4, 6-2).

Boys u-14: Maharashtra bt Chandigarh 2-0 (Vishal Passi bt Nischey Raval 7-5, 6-1; Parth Shah bt Pankaj 7-5, 6-2).

Girls u-19: Maharashtra bt Andhra Pradesh 2-1 (Radhika Jadhav lost to T Nilaya 6-4, 4-6, 4-6; Prachi Nadkarni bt B. Saipujita 6-2, 6-1; Prachi Nadkarni/Shradha Dali br T Nilaya/Nayantara 6-1, 6-0).

Girls u-17: Delhi bt Maharashtra 2-0 (Vaniya Dagral bt Riddhi Hegde 6-4, 6-1; Shweta Rama bt Nupur Kaul 6-3, 1-6, 6-1).

Girls u-14: Delhi bt Maharashtra 2-1 (Nehal lost to Haryali Chavan 6-4, 4-6, 4-6; Manya Nagpal bt Gauri Baindoor 6-4, 6-0; Nehal/ Manya Nagpal bt Gauri Baindoor/Sneha 6-4, 2-6, 6-3).

UNI