JOIN USUnseeded Rashmika Rajan of Karnataka entered both the girls’ under-16 and under-18 singles finals of the KTPPA-M P Prakash Memorial AITA Championship Series junior tennis tournament at the Topspin Tennis Academy courts here on Thursday.
The 13-year old Rashmika, a ward of Kinesis Tennis Academy, defeated second seed Moulika Ram of Andhra Pradesh 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the under-18 semifinals.
In the final, she will take on Pragati Nataraj of Tamil Nadu, who kncoked out qualifier Nisha Shenoy of Karnataka 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(8) in the other semifinals.
In the under-16 semifinal, Rashmika defeated Aarushi Thakkar of Chandigarh 6-1, 6-3. She will play second seed Abhinika in the final. Abhinika defeated local girl Harsha Sai Chala 6-1, 6-3 in the other semifinals.
In the boys under-18 final, B R Nikshep will take on Vashist. Nikshep beat Akhil Kanakaraj 7-5, 6-3 while Vashist beat third seed I B Akshay of Tamil Nadu 6-4, 6-1.
In the boys’ under-16 semifinal, Aditya Anant Gokhale and Nihit Rawal scored contrasting wins to set up a final against each other.
Results (semifinals): Boys under-18 singles: B R Nikshep (Kar) bt Akhil Kanakaraj (TN) 7-5, 6-3; Vashist (Kar) bt I B Akshay ( TN) 6-4, 6-1.
Boys under-16 singles: Aditya Anant Gokhale (Mah) bt Pranash Babu (TN) 6-4, 6-3; Nihit Rawal (Mah) bt Md Taquddin (AP) 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Girls under-18 singles: Rashmika Rajan bt Moulika Reddy (AP) 6-4, 7-6 (4); Pragati Natraj (TN) bt Nisha Shenoy (Kar) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4).
Under-16 singles: Abhinika bt Harsha Sai Chala (Kar) 6-1, 6-3; Rashmika Rajan (Kar) bt Aarushi Thakkar (Chd) 6-1, 6-3.