Koirala, Mathema enter quarters
Kathmandu, April 29
Prerana Koirala and Anne Mathema advanced to the quarter-finals of the sixth Citizens Bank Open Tennis Tournament here today.
In the women's section matches, Koirala defeated Saloni Tamang 6-2, 6-0, while Mathema beat Bhagawati BK 6-4, 6-2 on the opening day of the tournament organised by Kathmandu District Lawn Tennis Association under the sponsorship of Citizens Bank.
In men's singles, Jitendra Pariyar, Ranjan Shrestha, Pradeep Khadka, Kamal Bhandari, Nabin Magar and Samyak Bhushan Bajracharya entered the quarter-finals. Pariyar bagged a double bagel against Shivam Bikram Thapa, while Shrestha did so against Kumar GC. Likewise, Khadka outplayed Manoj Maharjan 6-0, 6-0, while Bhandari registered a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Anjan Thing.
Also, Magar bagged a double bagel against Nishan Shrestha and Bajraharya recorded a hard-fought 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Pranjal Kayastha.
Similarly, the pairs of Shree Ram Magar/Ira Rawat and Chhewang Lama/Ganga Sharma made it to the mixed doubles semi-finals. Also, Simon Gurung/Raju Chhetry, Atmaram Karki/Gopal Manandhar, and Niraj Thapa/Nabin Shrestha won their above-35 veteran doubles matches.
In above-45 veteran singles, Hem Chandra Gurung, Bachu Gopal Banshi, Dharma Shahi, Umesh Shahi, Uttam Kumar Sherpa, Sukman Tamang, Binod Kayastha, Madhu Pariyar, Binod Gurung and Kamal Thapa won their opening day matches. Also, Uttam Kumar Sherpa and Karma Tashi recorded wins in above-55 veteran singles category.
A total of 135 players are taking part in the seven-day tournament that features 11 events. The tournament carries a total cash purse of Rs 480,000. The matches are being held at the Dasharath Stadium and Tribhuvan Army Officers Club courts. Earlier, Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank Rajan Singh Bhandari inaugurated the tournament.
