Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, February 19:
Top seed Vinod Sridhar came from behind to clinch the men's singles title of the All India Tennis Championship (AITA Ranking Tournament) at Officers' Club, Lamphel today.
The doubles' crown went to Delhi-Maharashtra combination of Vishal Uppal and Ajay Ramaswami.
In the men's singles final against fourth seed Ajay Ramaswami, the Tamil Nadu southpaw Sridhar, who is ranked No 4 in the AITA chart, conceded the first set at 4-6 but regained composure to grab the next two sets at 6-1, 6-2 and lay claim to the Rs 52,000 top prize.
The final match, briefly disrupted due to drizzle, lasted an hour and thirty minutes.
Sridhar reached the final as third seeded Vishal Uppal retired on medical reason while Ramaswami had edged out Karnataka's Arjun Goutham 6-4, 7-5 in yesterday's semi final.
Even though both the singles' finalists also featured in the doubles' summit clash, Ramaswami and Uppal preserved their top seed tag with a come from behind win at 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.Victory in the doubles fetched the winning pair Rs 25,200 while Sridhar and his Tamil Nadu State-mate Vijay Kannan had to be contended with the Rs 13,000 second prize.
The final matches and closing ceremony of the championship organised by Manipur Tennis Association under the aegis of All India Tennis Association was held with Chief Secretary Jarnail Singh as the chief guest.
In all 32 players competed in the singles category while 16 pairs vied for the doubles' crown.
The championship sponsored by ONGC and OIL had started with the qualifying round from February 13 and with eight qualifiers featuring in the main draw from February 14.All the matches were played in three of the newly renovated deco synthetic courts of the Club.
The matches were held under the supervision of L Chandrasen as the tournament Director and Wadhera Birbal as the chief Referee.
A spectators' gallery dedicated to the memory of murdered school girl Lungnila Elizabeth was also inaugurated by her father Francis Ngajokpa, who is also the State�s Education Minister, to accommodate State tennis enthusiasts before the championship kick started.