In the closest match of the opening day that could have gone either way, unseeded Thapa overcame Khushal Singh of Delhi 8-7 (7-5) in the first round.
Min Bahadur Thapa Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre, Khadki won a thrilling tie-breaker in the opening encounter of the inaugural DHFL Wheelchair Tennis Tournament at the AITA Tennis Centre of Excellence, Kalina University Campus in Mumbai on Saturday.
In the closest match of the opening day that could have gone either way, unseeded Thapa overcame Khushal Singh of Delhi 8-7 (7-5) in the first round. Later, in the second round, Thapa went down to second seed Neeraj Yadav of Delhi 0-8.
“It was a very close match. I never expected such a strong challenge from Khushal,” said Thapa. “I just kept the ball in play and won crucial points. But in the second round, Neeraj Yadav was too good for me.”
Apart from Min Bahadur Thapa, his compatriots Naina Singh Thapa and Prem Singh also won their first round matches before bowing out in the second round.
Joining Neeraj Yadav in the quarter-finals were top seed Harish Bist of Mumbai, No. 3 M Gabriel of Tamil Nadu, fourth seed Rajiv Virat and No. 5 Amit Manga of Delhi, sixth seed Suresh Kumar of Tamil Nadu and No. 8 Raajesh Ranal of Delhi.
The semi-finals and finals will be held on Sunday.
Results (2nd round): Harish Bist (Mah) bt Anil Jadhav (Mah) 8-0; Suresh Kumar (TN) bt Suresh Kumar Karki (Pune) 8-2; Rajiv Virat (Del) bt Amol Boriwale (Pune Rehab Centre) 8-1; Amit Manga (Del) bt Naina Singh Thapa (Pune Rehab Centre) 8-2; M. Gabriel (TN) bt Prem Singh (Pune Rehab Centre) 8-2; Rajesh Ranal (Del) bt Prakash Nadar (Mah) 8-0; Neeraj Yadav (Del) bt Min Bahadur Singh (Pune Rehab Centre) 8-0. (1st round): Min Bahadur Thapa (Pune Rehab Centre) bt Khushal Singh (Delhi) 8-7 (7-5); Naina Singh Thapa (Pune Rehab Centre) bt Jagdish Shivtarkar (Mah) 8-1; Prem Singh (Pune Rehab Centre) bt C.Y. Reddy (Pune Rehab Centre) 8-3.
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