Bihar girl wins British Open Deaf Tennis Championship

PATNA: A 17-year old girl from Bihar has won the British Open Deaf Tennis Championship - a first by an Indian.

Patna's Shilpi Jaiswal won the under-18 championship title Saturday at Nottingham, Britain. She defeated Sweden's Fatima Tebibel in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 in the final.

Shilpi, who is deaf by birth, is the first Indian girl not only to win the title but also to participate in this championship.

"Shilpi was passionate about tennis since she was barely five-years-old despite her hearing problem and the non-existence of international standard facilities here," said her coach Kunal Aikat.

He added: "She is a girl with the potential to break records in the deaf category at international tournaments. She also won the All India Ranking Super Series at Delhi and Jamshedpur.

According to him, Shilpi not only excelled in the physically challenged category but she has competed with normal tennis players in a number of national and zonal tournaments.

She was ranked number one in the East Zone (juniors) and played for India at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) under-18 tournament for girls.

Shilpi's parents, Shishil and Preeti Jaiswal, were overjoyed by their daughter's victory and celebrated her triumph with relatives and friends.