ISLAMABAD - Rida Khalid of Pakistan paring with Samriti Paunyani of India stunned third seed Akanksha A Bhan and Madhumitha Purajan in thrilling two-set match of the girls ITF doubles event and qualified for the final.
The girls doubles final will be played today (Friday) at 9am at RK Khanna Tennis Stadium, New Delhi. In the first set Rida/Paunyani built up the winning 5-0 lead by breaking second and fourth games of opponents by playing aggressive game at the net. Indian pair reduced lead by breaking sixth and eighth games respectively.
Rida and partner started making some unforced errors and Indian pair won four games in a row by hitting some good winners, before Rida and Paunyani finally managed to hold on to win the first set 6-4 with the help of one ace.
In the second set, long rallies were witnessed and the score went to 5-5 as both the teams managed to hold their respective serves.
Rida/Paunyani won the 11th game by hitting winner down the line and won the second set 7-5 by breaking 12th game.
Vasisht Cheruku and Param Pun of India qualified for the final by beating Pakistani pair M Mudassar/M Muzammil in straight sets 6-2, 6-1. Pakistani pair played well but at deciding points, they made unforced errors due to lack of international experience.
The sign-in for the second ITF Pakistan International Junior Championships will close today (Friday) at 6pm. Two Pakistani players Ilham Khan and Ibrahim Iltafat will be awarded wildcards in the qualifying event whereas Syed Nofil Kaleem, Arham Attique, Mudassar and Muzammil will get wild cards for main draw.
In the girls event Alina Aftab, Mahin Aftab and Rida Kalid will also play main draw by virtue of wild cards entry. ITF referee Shahzad Akhtar Alvi and chief of umpire M Arif Qureshi will make the qualify draw at 6:30 pm today.