National Games 2023: Karnataka stun Uttar Pradesh to march into tennis final

UP were seeded second in the event, while Karnataka were unseeded.

The Karnataka boys’ team stunned the second-seeded Uttar Pradesh to advance to the finals of the tennis event at the National Games 2023, held at the Multi-purpose Ground in Fatorda, Goa. In the semifinals played on Tuesday, the unseeded Karnataka team defeated Uttar Pradesh with a score of 2-1.

Adil Kalyanpur, who played the first singles, fought brilliantly but lost 3-6, 3-6 to Siddharth Vishwakarma. However, SD Prajwal Dev kept the Karnataka team in the hunt with a brilliant win over the highly fancied Sidharth Rawat in straight sets, securing a score of 6-4, 6-2.

In the deciding doubles tie, Prajwal and Adil combined forces to beat the strong doubles pair of Vishwakarma and Rawat with a score of 6-3, 7-5. Karnataka will now face the winners of the other semifinal match between Haryana and Tamil Nadu.

Previously, Karnataka had caused an upset by defeating the 3rd-seeded Services team, earning their spot in the semifinals. Suraj Prabodh had lost to Ishaque Eqbal with a score of 4-6, 2-6, but Prajwal leveled the tie with a 6-2, 6-4 victory against Rishab Agrawal. In the deciding doubles match, Prajwal and Adil combined to defeat Ishaque Eqbal and Faisal Qamar in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-4.

The women’s team had concluded their campaign with a quarterfinal loss to Tamil Nadu.