Bengaluru, August 4: In the World Tennis U-14 Junior Team Finals, Karnataka’s Srishti Kiran continued her impressive performance by winning her second singles match. However, India faced a narrow defeat against Italy, losing 1-2 in the Group 4 round-robin stage at Prostejov, Czech Republic.
Representing India alongside fellow Karnataka player Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar, Srishti showcased her skills under pressure after India lost the opening singles match. Padmapriya put up a tough fight against Julia Luchetti but ultimately fell short, losing 4-6, 4-6, leaving India trailing 0-1.
Srishti made a remarkable comeback, defeating Italy’s top junior player, Olivia Serena Contisello, with a score of 6-0, 6-3, leveling the match at 1-1.
The outcome was decided in the doubles match, where Srishti and Padmapriya fought valiantly but were defeated by the Italian duo of Julia Luchetti and Olivia Serena Contisello, with a score of 3-6, 4-6.
Earlier, India had also lost their opening round-robin match against Japan by the same score of 1-2. Padmapriya lost her singles match to Ayaka Iwasa, 1-6, 5-7. However, Srishti delivered a memorable performance against Shina Okuyama. After trailing 1-5 in the first set, the young player from Bengaluru made a stunning comeback, winning the set 7-5 and then taking the second set 6-3 to equalize.
Unfortunately, Japan clinched the decisive doubles match, with Ayaka Iwasa and Shina Okuyama defeating the Indian pair 6-3, 6-1.
Under the captaincy of Asha Sharma, the Indian team qualified for the World Finals by securing fourth place in the Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying Event held in Kuching, Malaysia, in April 2026. They will play their final round-robin match against Morocco on Wednesday.
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RSG
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