After a striving beginning Ramkumar Ramanathan (India), managed to defeat the lee Duck Hee (Korea), in the finals of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for Gondwana Cup ITF Futures Tournament that concluded here at Chhattisgarh Club on Saturday.
Ramanathan who is 6th seeded player in the ITF ranking had a bad start and lost the first set at the hands of lee by 3-6. However he made a great comeback in next sets and registered two consecutive wins over 10th seeded lee. The three-hour-long match saw some great shots and fine moves from both the players in the final match.
Ramanathan in his maiden single title won defeated lee Duck Hee by 3-6, 7-6(6) and 6-4. lauding Ramanathan the Tennis experts watching termed it one of the greatest comeback game by any players in the history of Gondwana Cup. Ramanathan was just excellent in the second and third set, experts said.
Minister lata Usendi distributed prizes to the winner and runner up of the tournament. Usendi assured that the players visiting next year to participate in the tennis tournament will see a lot of changes as far as tennis infrastructure and facilities in the state are concerned.
Chhattisgarh State Tennis Association (CSTA) President Vikram Singh Sisodia also praised the rigorous efforts of Ramanathan to win the tournament title and appreciated the support of Sponsors Sarda Energy and Minerals limited and Indian Oil which made the tournament a great success. VIP’s Club Chairman Rakesh Pandey, Sanjay Mathur from Indian Oil, CSTA assistant secretary Vijay Agrawal, Treasurer lawrence Santiago and others were present during the match.