Kalaburagi, March 2 (IANS) A strong Indian presence will be seen in the singles main draw, with five Indian players qualifying through the preliminary rounds in the ITF W35 Kalaburagi, which is prepared for an engaging main draw following a draw ceremony conducted on Monday.
The draw ceremony, highlighting the vibrant domestic competition at this USD 30,000 tournament, was attended by Fouzia Taranum, Deputy Commissioner & District Magistrate of Kalaburagi; Bhanwar Singh Meena, CEO of Zilla Panchayat, Kalaburagi; and Shinde Avinash Sanjeevan, Commissioner of Kalaburagi City Corporation.
The singles main draw features several exciting opening matches, including third seed Vaishnavi Adkar playing against Chevika Reddy Sama. In the top half, fifth seed Zeel Desai faces a qualifier, while eighth seed Ankita Raina is set to meet Sonal Patil in an all-Indian first-round match, ensuring strong local interest early in the section.
Meanwhile, fourth seed Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty faces Evgeniya Burdina, while second seed Anchisa Chanta begins her campaign against Britain’s Allegra Korpanec Davies. The lineup, featuring several Indian seeds and experienced international players, forecasts a highly competitive week.
The W35 Kalaburagi doubles main draw is led by top seeds Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty and Jasmijn Gimbrere, who will face the Thai pair Anchisa Chanta and Thasaporn Naklo in their opening match, promising an exciting start.
Three Indian pairs—Singdha Kanta and Harshini N Nagaraj, Kashish Bhatia and Vanshita Pathania, and Sreemanya Reddy Anugonda and Sai Samhitha Chamarthi—received wildcard entries, providing rising domestic players with valuable ITF experience. The draw features a mix of strong international teams and Indian duos, promising high-quality doubles matches throughout the week.
Earlier on Monday, the qualifying rounds ended with multiple Indians competing for the last eight spots in the main draw.
In one of the day’s most exciting matches, Arunkumar Lakshmi Prabha overcame Maria Mikhailova with scores of 6-2, 3-6, 10-6 in a tight tie-break to advance to the qualifying round. Meanwhile, second seed Eva Marie Desvignes from Singapore defeated Aahan Aahan in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1.
Third seed Valeria Savinykh defeated Saumya Ronde with a score of 6-4, 6-1. In an all-Indian match, Kashish Bhatia beat Mahika Khanna 7-6(4), 6-0, demonstrating resilience in a competitive first set before quickly closing out the second.
Aishwarya Jadhav achieved a convincing victory, defeating 16th seed Sreemanya Reddy Anugonda 6-3, 6-3 to move forward. Meanwhile, ninth seed Sandeepthi Singh Rao handled Karnataka’s Snigdha Kanta with a 6-4, 6-3 win, staying composed during critical points.
In other matches, 14th seed Laxmisiri Dandu defeated eighth seed Bela Tamhankar 7-5, 3-6, 14-12 in a tense match tie-break to advance to the next round. Meanwhile, seventh seed Anna Sedysheva overcame tenth seed Yashaswini Panwar 6-4, 6-2.
With the main draw now officially announced, the W35 Kalaburagi is set for an exciting week of top-tier women’s tennis.
Results:
Qualifying Round 2:
Arunkumar Lakshmi Prabha (IND) bt 1-Maria Mikhailova 6-2, 3-6, 10-6; 2-Eva Marie Desvignes (SGP) bt Aahan Aahan (IND) 6-0, 6-1; 3-Valeria Savinykh bt Saumya Ronde (IND) 6-4, 6-1; Kashish Bhatia (IND) bt 13-Mahika Khanna (IND) 7-6(4), 6-0; Aishwarya Jadhav (IND) bt 16-Sreemanya Reddy Anugonda (IND) 6-3, 6-3; 9-Sandeepthi Singh Rao (IND) bt Snigdha Kanta (IND) 6-4, 6-3; 14-Laxmisiri Dandu (IND) bt 8-Bela Tamhankar (IND) 7-5, 3-6, 14-12; 7-Anna Sedysheva bt 10-Yashaswini Panwar (IND) 6-4, 6-2
–IANS
vi/bsk/
