Suhana claims U-15 title in Slovenia

 

 

New Delhi, September 11: Taking her cue from Payas Jain, who claimed the Under-17 Boys Singles title, Suhana Saini joined the gold hunt when she defeated Binaca Mei Rosu of Romania in the final of the Under-15 Girls in the WTT Contender that concluded in Otocec, Slovenia, yesterday.

 

In a way, the Haryana girl’s 3-2 (8-11, 4-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-9) triumph avenged the loss in the final she suffered at the hands of the same Romanian in the WTT Youth Contender in Croatia recently. Besides, yesterday’s win also showed the fighting spirit of the 14-year-old, similar to what Payas and Rosu had displayed in the previous week. Then, the Romanian was in a 0-2 deficit before overpowering the Indian to win the title.

 

Incidentally, Suhana had also bagged a bronze medal in the U-17 Girls singles in Croatia.

 

It was a standout performance from the Rohtak girl who rallied after trailing 0-2 to challenge the top-ranked Romanian to subdue her opponent, especially after winning the extended third game which saw some beautiful rallies and an aggressive approach from Suhana.

 

 

The final was in contrast to the wins the third-seeded posted from the group stages—she dropped just a game—to the semi-finals, winning all the main draw matches with 3-0 margins. She beat local girl Enya Moltara in the pre-quarters, carried the form into the quarters to defeat Alesia Sofia Sferlea and triumphed over Germany’s Mia Griesel in the semis.

 

“I was nervous and it showed in the first two games. I lost to her twice before. But I was able to come back and I am happy about it. I hope I can continue the form in Tunis,” said Suhana.

 

Meanwhile, Yashaswini Ghorpade from Bengaluru raised visions of another Indian title but squandered the 2-1 advantage Under-17 Girls final to Romania’s Elina Zaharia. The Romanian won 8-11, 13-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-3. Yashaswini settled with the silver even as she added a bronze from the Under-19 Girls event, along with Diya Chitale. Both lost in the semifinals.