In a gripping display of rising talent and sheer determination, Debasis Sahoo turned heads as he overcame fifth-seed Parth Aggarwal in the men’s first round of the Fenesta National Tennis Championship at the DLTA Complex on Monday.
The match was a testament to Sahoo’s fighting spirit. Training under coach Todd Clark at KIIT University in Bhubaneswar, Debasis orchestrated a remarkable turnaround after finding himself trailing 2-5 in the opening set. From that challenging position, he surged forward, ultimately dominating the rest of the match to secure a memorable victory.
Looking ahead to the pre-quarterfinals, Debasis is set to face former national champion Manish Sureshkumar, who comfortably advanced by defeating Amrutjay Mohanty with a loss of just four games.
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, Atharva Sharma fought a hard battle, eventually conquering former finalist Suraj Prabodh in a tense third-set tie-break.
On the women’s side, top seed Vaishnavi Adkar confidently began her campaign, securing a straight-set win against Mirudhula Palanivel, signaling her readiness for the tougher challenges that lie ahead.
Jeetesh Kumari also demonstrated her grit, recovering strongly after dropping the first set to overcome Chevika Reddy. Reddy, unfortunately, had to retire midway through the deciding set.
Adding to the excitement, left-handed player Aditi Rawat delivered a stellar performance, digging deep to defeat Chandana Potugari in a three-set encounter.
Here’s a summary of the first-round results:
Men:
- Manish Sureshkumar defeated Amrutjay Mohanty: 6-3, 6-1
- Debasis Sahoo defeated Parth Aggarwal: 7-5, 6-0
- A. Deepak defeated Maan Kesharwani: 7-6(4) (retired)
- Atharva Sharma defeated Suraj Prabodh: 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(3)
- Prajwal Dev defeated Sarthak Suden: 6-2, 6-1
Women:
- Vaishnavi Adkar defeated Mirudhula Palanivel: 6-2, 6-4
- Jeetesh Kumari defeated Chevika Reddy: 5-7, 6-2, 3-0 (retired)
- Sahira Singh defeated Sonicka Jadeesh: 6-4, 6-0
- Aditi Rawat defeated Chandana Potugari: 6-0, 4-6, 6-2
- Harshini Nagaraj defeated Lakshmi Prabha: 6-2, 6-1