Siliguri, December 3: Tamil Nadu defeated a laboring Uttar Pradesh 3-1 in Cadet Boys to enter the final where they will clash with Karnataka later this evening in the 11Even Sports 78th Cadet and Sub-Junior Nationals at the SMC Stadium here today.

Holders Tamil Nadu, led by Preyesh Suresh Raj and Tarun Shanmugam proved to be a hard nut to crack for as Uttar Pradesh found to their chagrin. Though Preyesh beat Sarth Mishra 11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 11-4, Tharun lost 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 8-11 to Divyansh Srivastavba and level the score. Then the two Tamil Nnadu boys paired up to beat Sarth and Divyansh 11-6, 19-11, 13-11, 11-6 to go up. In his reverse singles, Preyesh had no problems is outplaying Divyansh with a 11-5, 11-4, 11-8. 

In the other semifinals, playing a percentage game throughout Karnataka defeated Goa 3-0. Sujan Bharadwaj beat Shantesh Mapsekar 9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-4, Aakash Jagadish followed it up with 11-6, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8 victory voer Nagesh Verenker for an unassailable 2-0 lead. Then the two Karnataka boys mopped it up against Nagesh and Shantesh with 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-5 win to enter the final. 

WB-Delhi showdown

As for the Cadet Girls’ first semifinal, West Bengal downed Maharashtra A 3-0 as Sucheta Prosad beat Pritha Vartikar 6-22, 6-22, 22-9, 11-9, 12-10 for a grand opening. Prithoki Chakraborti made it 2-0 for her team when she beat Sampada Bhiwandkar 11-8, 12-10, 11-6 and then the two West Bengal girls beat Arya and Pritha 11-9, 11-8, 15-13 in the doubles to complete a whitewash. 

In the second semifinal, Delhi scored a 3-0 victory with Lakshita Narang providing the lead with a 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 win over Karruna Gajendran. S. Garyatri consolidated their position when she downed Saathwika Rao 11-2, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8 and the two combined for 9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 8-11, 11-4 win over the Karnataka pair.