ONGC scrape past GAIL to retain title

ONGC retained the team title in the PSPB inter-unit tennis championship following a hard-fought 2-1 victory over hosts GAIL in the final here at the KSLTA courts on Thursday. 

After GAIL’s Saketh Myneni had won the opening tie on Wednesday, a spirited Vishnu Vardhan egded past R Ramkumar 6-7 (0-7), 6-4, 6-3 to level the match. 

 

In the deciding doubles rubber, ONGC’s VM Ranjeet and Vardhan combined to quell the challenge of Myneni and Ramkumar 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 to take the title. 

 

After the match between Vardhan and Ramkumar was halted on Wednesday due to heavy rains with both players having won a set each, they looked to regain momentum quickly but it was the former who was in the ascendancy. 

The ONGC man found much joy with his forehand and after breaking Ramkumar in the seventh game of the third set, he broke again to send the tie into a decider. 

 

Vardhan then combined with Ranjeet to win the doubles match as well. 

 

Both teams held serves till the tie-break before GAIL took it 7-5. 

 

In the second, the teams traded breaks early, with ONGC coming up trumps this time in the breaker 7-4. 

 

In the deciding third set, the ONGC pair broke Ramkumar early on and held on to win the clash.  

 

In the men’s singles competition, Rohan Bopanna and Vardhan will be squaring off in the first semifinal with Ramkumar and Ranjeet competing in the other.

 

In the women’s side, top sed Ankita Raina of ONGC set up a title clash with Prerna Bhambri of GAIL. 

 

Results: ONGC bt GAIL 2-1 (Vishnu Vardhan bt R Ramkumar 6-7 (0-7), 6-4, 6-3; VM Ranjeet/ Vishnu Vardhan bt Saketh Myneni/ R Ramkumar 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-4), 6-4).