ITF Junior circuit 2023 India

[jayakris]

A J100 (new numbering scheme) is on at Chandigarh. Big upset of the top seed Aayush Bhat (USA,170) by Pranav Karthik (IND,420) today, but 7th seed Rethin went down ... Talented 13 year old Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi was beaten closely in the final qualies by talented 14 year old Aishwarya Jhadav, but made it in as a lucky loser and upset a Angeles Rodriguez-Rizo of Mexico. Top seed Suhitha Maruri won the R1 today.

A lot of foreign players are there, and only 4 or 5 Indians will make even the second round on the boys' side, it seems. There should be 6 or 7 in the R2 on the girls' side.

[jayakris]

Forgot to mention that Rohan Belday is also there at this event. He won his first round over a wildcard, Aryan Arora. So two sports-india members sons are in the second round!! (Pranav Karthik is the other)

[sameerph]

Forgot to mention that Rohan Belday is also there at this event. He won his first round over a wildcard, Aryan Arora. So two sports-india members sons are in the second round!! (Pranav Karthik is the other)

I think Gautam is also there at the venue. Also Nirupama Vaidyanathan's daughter Sahana Sanjeev is there in girls draw and won her first round match.

Overall, only 4 Indian boys in last 16 ( 5 if we include Rohan). 6 Indian girls in last 16 ( 8 if we include Sahana and another Indian American Maya Dutta.

[gbelday]

Forgot to mention that Rohan Belday is also there at this event. He won his first round over a wildcard, Aryan Arora. So two sports-india members sons are in the second round!! (Pranav Karthik is the other)

Thanks Jay, good to know Pranav’s dad is also a SI member. I should go introduce myself. I really like Pranav’s game. He times the ball so well and is has very good racquet skills. Rohan and Adam lost in doubles to Pranav and Rethin today.

Quite a few talented kids. Besides Pranav. I like this 13 year old girl Maaya. Very talented. Runs down every ball, and is a big fighter. Good technique too. Hopefully good things in the future.

Btw, been hanging out with Niru and family. Narendranath has been helping Rohan and Aayush on this leg (and maybe Delhi). Sanam has been in town (his hometown) and came down to see some matches. It’s been good to meet the Indian legends.

Tough conditions though. Very cold and foggy. Rohan is finding it difficult to breathe. Delhi may be similar.

I’ve been enjoying Chandigarh. My first time here. Good food and excellent chai . Niru’s husband Sanjeev found this chaiwala and it’s our favorite spot that we go to everyday. Haven’t ventured out a whole lot but hoping to check out some places.

[jayakris]

^^^ Good to know of the camaraderie there, among Indians (and their Yankee kids ) ... Yes, "vgan" who had posted recently here is Pranav Karthik's dad. Pranav had not played a whole lot in the last few months, since beating Rethin in the Chennai J4 final and finishing runner-up to Kriish at the Hyderabad J4 in August. So I was wondering what was up with him. Good to see him back and playing well. But I did not even know that Sahana was Niru's daughter. I actually knew the name, and should have placed it in my mind much earlier, when I am sure I have seen her in some US events' draws. You must be right about Maaya being quite talented, at her age (still has not turned 14, I think) - the results show it so far too. But, as Sameer pointed out in another thread yesterday, the girls' side is rather bare in the 15 to 17 age range in India.

[jayakris]

As the dust settles into the QFs, only one Indian and one Indian-American remain on the boys' side. Both are sports-india kids. Pranav Karthik and Rohan Belday. How about that? Two Koreans, Two Taiwanese, a Russian, a Japanese, an Indian-American and an Indian made the QF today.

Three Indians and an Indian-American are in the girls' QFs. Top seed Sahitha moved on, and plays the Indian-American Maya Dutta who got a walkover from Indira Lepage of France, who must be at least half-Indian. Sahana and Maaya whom we mentioned above, lost to Madhurima and Niyati respectively. Third seed Sonal Patil lost to a Polish player.

Girls results/draw... Boys results/draw

[vgan]

Forgot to mention that Rohan Belday is also there at this event. He won his first round over a wildcard, Aryan Arora. So two sports-india members sons are in the second round!! (Pranav Karthik is the other)

Thanks Jay, good to know Pranav’s dad is also a SI member. I should go introduce myself. I really like Pranav’s game. He times the ball so well and is has very good racquet skills. Rohan and Adam lost in doubles to Pranav and Rethin today.

Quite a few talented kids. Besides Pranav. I like this 13 year old girl Maaya. Very talented. Runs down every ball, and is a big fighter. Good technique too. Hopefully good things in the future.

Btw, been hanging out with Niru and family. Narendranath has been helping Rohan and Aayush on this leg (and maybe Delhi). Sanam has been in town (his hometown) and came down to see some matches. It’s been good to meet the Indian legends.

Tough conditions though. Very cold and foggy. Rohan is finding it difficult to breathe. Delhi may be similar.

I’ve been enjoying Chandigarh. My first time here. Good food and excellent chai . Niru’s husband Sanjeev found this chaiwala and it’s our favorite spot that we go to everyday. Haven’t ventured out a whole lot but hoping to check out some places.

I would have loved to meet you in Chandigarh but I am not there for this trip with Pranav. He is all by himself for next 1.5 months. I did tell Pranav about Nirupama being there thanks to your post and he introduced himself to her today.

[vgan]

^^^ Good to know of the camaraderie there, among Indians (and their Yankee kids ) ... Yes, "vgan" who had posted recently here is Pranav Karthik's dad. Pranav had not played a whole lot in the last few months, since beating Rethin in the Chennai J4 final and finishing runner-up to Kriish at the Hyderabad J4 in August. So I was wondering what was up with him. Good to see him back and playing well. But I did not even know that Sahana was Niru's daughter. I actually knew the name, and should have placed it in my mind much earlier, when I am sure I have seen her in some US events' draws. You must be right about Maaya being quite talented, at her age (still has not turned 14, I think) - the results show it so far too. But, as Sameer pointed out in another thread yesterday, the girls' side is rather bare in the 15 to 17 age range in India.

Thanks Jay. It was mostly back to practice after last visit to India. He did play couple of tournaments last month in Latvia but bit rusty And didn’t go far. Let’s see how this series of J100 and J200s go and also Khelo India junior in Feb.

[jayakris]

Bad day for us in Chandigarh. Everybody lost. Rohan gave a good comeback fight but fell in three sets to a Korean player. Pranav did not have a good day at all against the Russian player in a 2-set loss. On the girls' side, top seed Suhitha, 7th seed Madhurima and qualifier Niyati, all lost in straight sets to Indian-American, Polish and British players respectively.

So, after having 4 Indians and 3 Indian-Americans in the QFs, only Maya Dutta (USA) made it to the SFs, as she upset Suhitha

[jayakris]

Thanks Jay. It was mostly back to practice after last visit to India. He did play couple of tournaments last month in Latvia but bit rusty And didn’t go far. Let’s see how this series of J100 and J200s go and also Khelo India junior in Feb.

Yep. Looks like the practice helped in a couple of good wins this week. Hope he hits a stride soon to go deep at one of these events.

[gbelday]

Tough day. Rohan’s opponent is a tall, big hitter with a great serve and he’s only 14 . Has a bright future. Rohan had all the right intentions but couldn’t execute. Sprayed a few shots in crucial situations and let him off the hook. Shouldn’t have lost the first set but did well to fight back.

The 3rd set was a physical and mental test. I could see the legs caving in a bit and the serves didn’t have the zing. He’s been doing a lot of work in the gym with his trainer and hopefully it all comes together this year.

Watched Maya and Suhita and Suhita doesn’t have much on her ball. Is happy to grind and rely on opponents mistakes. Maya was taking the ball early and dictating almost every point. Btw, Maya is Anirban Dutta’s daughter. Anirban played on the india circuit before going to Alabama on a tennis scholarship. Good friendly family. Maya’s twin Jai lost in the final round of qualies.

I liked watching this girl M. Sawant. She has some great tools and is quite gritty. Lost her match yesterday but if she can avoid injuries and put on some strength, she will do well.

[prasen9]

Indira Lepage of France, who must be at least half-Indian.

I thought she was Belgian. She is French? Half Indian? She looks very Caucasian. Could it be that her family is a Indophile? Or just liked the name?

Congrats to the two SI-kids. Hope they go further!

[jayakris]

^^^ She is Belgian... I think the name sounded French to me, so I wrote French ... Maybe the Belgian parents were Indira Gandhi fans?

[punarayan]

Gautam, Enjoy reading about Rohan’s tennis journey. Can’t believe that little kid is now playing at this level! Kudos for the effort as a parent. Hope to see him play in the near future.

[jayakris]

2nd seed Donghyun Hwang (KOR) beat unseeded Timofei Derepasko (RUS) in the boys final at Chandigarh, and unseeded Dominika Podhajecka (POL) beat 4th seed Lidia Podgorichani (THA)...

Maya Dutta, the only Indian-foreigner or Indian in either semifinals, had gone down earlier to Lidia in three sets.

Top seeds Suhitha Maruri and Kitti Molnar (HUN) beat 3rd seeds Liya Chu (TPE) and Maya Dutta (USA) in girls doubles final, and 4th seeds Yu Maeda/Shingo Masuda beat 2nd seeds Takamasa Mishiro/ Satoru Nakajima in an all-Japanese boys' final. Cahir Warik with a Dutch partner was the only Indian boy in even the doubles semifinal.

So, all in all, way too many foreign players are in this junior circuit, with 4 of the top Indian boys (Aryan, Manas, Yuvan, Kriish) and the top Indian girl (Shruti Alhawat) missing it. Rushil also missed it, so make it 6 top Indians not playing. At least there won't be the usual complaint that Indians get over-ranked from beating up other Indians in easier Indian events.

It gets worse the next two weeks in the higher J200 events in Delhi and Kolkata, as 3 or 4 more top-100 players join on the boys' side, like Aditya Ganesan (USA,70), and some 5 or 6 more top players on the girls' side too, like Ashton Bowers (USA,55). The top seed this week, Suhitha Maruri, will only be a low seed next week. Actually, only 2 or 3 Indians will make direct entry in each draw the next two weeks.

(Maybe some top names for the next two weeks will move out and on to the Australian Open juniors though; Not sure).