Bhubaneswar: Ameek Kiran Batth of Odisha emerged U-18 girls’ singles champion in the SLTA-AITA Championship series (CS7) tennis tournament in Sonipat, Saturday. However, she had to be satisfied with a runner-up finish in the U-16 segment.
In the U-18 segment, Ameek raced to a 6-2 win in the first set against Shradha Chabbra of Delhi before clinching the second set 6-1 to eventually emerge champion. She was dominant in her shot-making never allowing her rival to settle down. She hit powerful shots on both flanks to easily win the match.
However, in the U-16 final, Ameek lost a three-set thriller to Raju 0-6, 6-2, 5-7. The Odiya player lost the first set without a fight. Just when it seemed that Raju would rout Ameek, she came back strongly in the match winning the second set quite comfortably breaking her rival twice.
In the third set Ameek fought very hard, but luck was not on her side. She made a couple of crucial errors to lose her service game and with it the match.