Jamshedpur: Sajal Kesarwani’s underdog story is coming to a head at the Tata Steel AITA Men’s National Ranking Tennis Tournament 2024 as the unseeded player defied the odds to reach the semi-finals of the men’s singles event. The tournament with a prize money of Rs 1 lakh is currently going on at the JRD Tata Sports Complex.
Sajal Kesarwani
Kesarwani faced a tough challenge against fourth seed Mukil Ramanan in the quarterfinals. Initially, Kesarwani struggled to hold her ground and lost the first set at 0-6. However, demonstrating resilience and determination, they came back strongly in the second set and won it 6–3 to level the match. The decider was a true test of patience and skill, with Kesarwani emerging victorious in a tense tiebreaker to take the set and the match. His remarkable journey to the pre-quarterfinals also saw a marathon battle lasting 3 hours and 20 minutes, where he emerged victorious with a scoreline of 0-6, 6-3, 7-6(2).
Meanwhile, top seeds VM Ranjith and Ritabrata Sarkar performed brilliantly to easily secure their place in the quarter-finals. Ranjit defeated 5th seed Sarthak Suden 6-1, 6-1, while Sarkar defeated MD Fardeen 6-2, 6-2. In another quarterfinal match, third seed Abhinansu Borthakur defeated Biki Sagolshem in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.
Stay tuned for more updates on the upcoming events at the Tata Steel AITA Men’s National Ranking Tennis Tournament 2024.
