Tennis Premier League | Rithvik, Maan and Sharmada rise to the occasion for Sapphires

Gurgaon Sapphires defended their title, beating Ichiban Samurai 81-56 in the Pro Tennis League 2023 final. Rithvik Bollipalli, Maan Kesharwani and Sharmada Balu led the team to victory, with Rithvik serving big and stroking with confidence to tame Nitin Kumar Sinha 18-12. Sharmada & Ruma Gaikaiwari sealed the tie by beating Sahaja Yamalapalli & Gauri Mangaonkar 15-5. Rithvik & Maan fired an ace on the first championship point to close out the contest. Fans were treated to an exciting evening of exhilarating tennis as Sapphires pulled the rug under Samurai.

Defending champion Gurgaon Sapphires did it yet again, beating Ichiban Samurai 81-56 in the final of the Pro Tennis League 2023 at the RK Khanna Stadium here on Sunday.

The entertaining final saw Sapphires get off to a tough start. However, the team battled back through Rithvik Bollipalli, Maan Kesharwani and Sharmada Balu to outscore a side that had won everything till the final.

Rithvik was a class act, serving big and stroking with confidence, as he tamed Nitin Kumar Sinha 18-12. It was a superb show by the doubles specialist. Sharmada and Ruma Gaikaiwari virtually sealed the tie by beating Sahaja Yamalapalli and Gauri Mangaonkar 15-5.

Leading 77-53 at that stage, Sapphires needed four more points to clinch the trophy. Fittingly, it was Rithvik (partnering Maan) who fired an ace on the first championship point (3-3) to close out the contest against Nitin Kumar Sinha and Rushil Khosla.

Rushil had done a good job till the final, but did not get much of a chance after losing to Maan Kesharwani 8-12 in the second singles.

For the fans who stayed back, it was an exciting evening of exhilarating tennis, as Gurgaon Sapphires pulled the rug under the feet of Ichiban Samurai, with a classic show.

The results: Final: Gurgaon Sapphires bt Ichiban Samurai 81-56 (Sharmada Balu lost to Sahaja Yamalapalli 6-14; Maan Kesharwani bt Rushil Khosla 11-9; Ruma Gaikaiwari bt Gauri Mangaonkar 15-5; Sharmada & Suresh Krishna bt Sahaja & Dilip Mohanty 12-8; Rithvik Bollipalli bt Nitin Kumar Sinha 18-12; Sharmada & Ruma bt Sahaja & Gauri 15-5; Rithivik & Maan bt Nitin & Rushil 4-3). Semifinals:Sapphires bt Sankara Stag Babolat Yoddhas 81-64 (Sharmada tied with Sowjanya Bavisetti 10-10; Maan tied Vansh Bisht 10-10; Ruma lost to Sahira Singh 8-12; Sharmada & Suresh Krishna bt Sowjanya & Pulkit Mishra 13-7; Rithvik bt Arjun Kadhe 20-10; Sharmada & Ruma lost to Sowjanya & Sahira 9-11; Rithvik & Maan bt Arjun & Vansh 11-4). Samurai bt Paramount Proec Tigers 81-75 (Sahaja bt Sravya Shivani 13-7; Rushil tied with Parikshit Somani 10-10; Gauri lost to Divya Ungrish 7-13; Sahaja & Dilip lost to Sravya & Indra Kumar Mahajan 7-13; Nitin Kumar bt Vishnu Vardhan 16-14; Sahaja & Gauri bt Sravya & Divya 11-9; Nitin & Rushil bt Vishnu & Parikshit 17-9).