PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, June 9: Unseeded Arnav Vijay Paparkar of Maharashtra stole the show as he enters the finals of the Men’s Singles category at the ongoing Tata Steel AITA Men’s National Ranking 1 Lac Prize Money Tennis Tournament 2023, held at the synthetic courts of the JRD Tata Sports Complex.
Paparkar grabbed the opening set against Pratyush Mohanty, seeded 3 in the draw, by a close 6-4.
Thereafter, it was experienced Mohanty who made a comeback to level the match by claiming the second set by 7-5.
In the decider, it was the younger Paparkar who kept calm and refused to offer free points as he continued to create upsets en route to the finals.
Paparkar won by a long 6-3,5-7,6-3. He will face state-mate and top seed of the draw, Atharva Sharma in the finals scheduled later in the day today.
Sharma won an easy encounter against Bengal’s Ritabrata Sarkar as he won the match 5-3 since Sarkar was already battling a shoulder injury and conceded the match.
Matches began at 7 am today and the prize distribution ceremony is scheduled for this afternoon.
