Valeryla Strakhova, Vijay Sundar help Gujarat Panthers maintain winning run in Tennis Premier League

Gujarat Panthers recorded their second victory on the trot in the Tennis Premier League (TPL) at the Celebration Club in Mumbai on Thursday.

A strong singles performance from Vijay Sundar Prashant helped the Gujarat Panthers maintain their winning streak. Vijay Sundar dominated Yuki Bhambri. Also, his strong combination with doubles specialist Divij Sharan propelled the Gujarat Panthers to a 44-36 victory against Delhi Binny’s Brigade.

Gujarat had opened their account with a 43-37 win over Chennai Stallions.

Ukrainian Valeryla Strakhova, representing Gujarat, recovered from trailing 3-9 against her Thai opponent Peangtarn Plipuech. Valeryla Strakhova, also playing for Gujarat, did well to tie the first women’s singles at 10-10.

Vijay Sundar does well for Gujarat Panthers in the Tennis Premier League

Valeryla Strakhova’s performance inspires Vijay Sundar of Gujarat Panthers

The brilliant performance of Valeryla Strakhova seemed to have inspired Vijay Sundar, who beat Bhambri 13-7. Manish Sureshkumar and Peangtarn raised Delhi’s hopes of a fightback when they won mixed doubles against Dhivij Sharan and Valeryla 12-8.

However, doubles specialists Sharan and Vijay Sundar were too strong for Bhambri and Manish, winning the final rubber 13-7 to seal the win.

Rajasthan Tigers crash to their third straight defeat

The Rajasthan Tigers slumped to their third defeat from as many games, losing 34-46 to Mumbai Leon Army. Despite Prajnesh Gunneswaran beating Ramkumar Ramanathan 13-7, Rajasthan Tigers went down in the overall clash.

The mixed doubles pair of Aryan Goveas and Diana Marcinkevica caved in tamely against Sowjanya and Niki Poonacha, losing 5-15. Aryan and Prajnesh had a big deficit to cover up in the final men’s doubles encounter.

In the other match, Mumbai Leon Army beat Delhi Binny’s Brigade 44-36. Mumbai Leon Army have won all three of their league matches, while Delhi have lost all three.

Vijay Sundar (left) and Dhivij Sharan in action for Gujarat Panthers

RESULTS

Gujarat Panthers bt Delhi Binny’s Brigade 44-36 (Valeryla tied with Peangtarn 10-10; Vijay Sundar bt Yuki Bhambri 13-7; Dhivij/Valeryla lost to Manish/Peangtran 8-12; Vijya Sundar/Dhivij bt Bhambri/Manish 13-7)

Mumbai Leon Army bt Rajasthan Tigers 46-34 (Sowjanya B bt Diana M 11-9; R Ramkumar lost to Prajnesh G 7-13; Sowjanya/Niki P bt Aryan Goveas/Diana 15-5; Ramkumar/Niki bt Aryan/Prajnesh 13-7)

TEAMS

Delhi Binny’s Brigade: Yuki Bhambri, lost to Manish Sureshkumar/Peangtarn Plipuech

Chennai Stallions: Purav Raja, Sidharth Rawat, Samantha Murray Sharan (Great Britain)

Bengaluru Spartans: Jeevan N, N Srirama Balaji, Sabina Sharipova (Uzbekistan)

Hyderabad Strikers Arjun Kadhe, Vishnu Vardhan, Karman Kaur Thandi

Rajasthan Tigers: Prajnesh Gunneswaran, Aryan Goveas, Diana Marcinkevica (Latvia)

Gujarat Panthers: Divij Sharan, Vijay Sundar Prashant, Valeryla Strakhova (Ukraine)

Pune Jaguars: Saketh Myneni, Ishaque Iqbal, Rutuja Bhosle.