Adhikari, Rizal claim championships
KATHMANDU: Kumar Adhikari and Priti Rijal clinched the singles championships of the second APF Open Lawn Tennis Tournament held at the Armed Police Force (APF) headquarters today.
Adhikari eased to comfortable victory over Jitendra Pariyar 6-3, 6-1 in the men’s singles final while Rizal overcame Malika Rana 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 in the women’s singles final. The champions received Rs 40,000 each while the runners up took home Rs 20,000 apiece.
Adhikari and Pariyar also combined to win the men’s doubles title, defeating the duo of Sriram Magar and Manoj Rana 6-0, 6-1. The men’s doubles champions won Rs 30,000 while the runners up received Rs 15,000. Rajesh Chhetri laboured to a 7-6, 6-4 win over Sanu Lama to claim the veterans’ singles (above 35-yrs) title.
Likewise, Krishna Raj Ghale and Suwarna Dhakhwa rallied for a 4-6, 6-1 (10-6) victory over Manoj Rana and Sanu Lama to clinch the veterans’ doubles (above 35-yrs) championship. Krishna Raj bagged the veterans’ singles (above 45-yrs) trophy, defeating Kamal Thapa in straight sets 6-2, 6-1. Prithvi Thakali claimed the veterans’ singles (above 55-yrs) title after rallying past Gyanendra Tamrakar 3-6, 6-3 (10-6) in super tiebreaker.
Also, MB Mathema defeated Indrajit Rai 8-3 to win the veterans’ singles (above 65-yrs) category. In all, 189 players fought for the championships in eight different categories. Home Secretary Dr Govinda Prasad Kusum, Inspector General of APF Sanat Kumar Basnet among others gave away the prizes.