Pune, April 21, 2026: Seven Indians — local player Arnav Paparkar, Samarth Sahita, Tavish Pahwa, and Hruthik Katakam in boys draw and Parthsarthi Mundhe, Snigdha Kanta, and Deepshika Vinayagamurthy in girls draw — moved into the second round of the singles event at the MSLTA Deccan Gymkhana Asia Oceania B1 Junior Tennis Championships. The tournament is organized by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association and Deccan Gymkhana in association with PYC Hindu Gymkhana and played at the Deccan Gymkhana tennis courts.
The youngsters join compatriots Jensi Dipakbhai Kanabar and Diya Ramesh who reached Round 2 yesterday, to strengthen Indian presence in this high-octane event, where champions are eligible for direct entry into Grand Slam Junior events the following year, providing a significant pathway to professional tennis development.
In the boys’ section, second seed and local favourite Arnav Paparkar led the Indian charge with a composed straight-sets victory over Korea’s Tae Woo Kim. Paparkar displayed solid baseline play and held his nerve in a tight second-set tiebreak to seal the match 6-1, 7-6(4).
Samarth Sahita produced one of the standout performances of the day, knocking out third seed Kunanan Pantaratorn of Thailand in a hard-fought three-set battle. After taking the opening set comfortably, Sahita was pushed to the decider before regaining control to clinch a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win.
Tavish Pahwa also showed resilience, overcoming Korea’s Sungmin Lee in a gruelling three-set encounter. Pahwa edged a close first set, dropped the second, but came back strongly in the decider to win 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
Hruthik Katakam completed the Indian quartet in the second round with a commanding 6-1, 6-2 win over Australia’s Raphael Savelli.
Among other results, Japan’s Yoshihiro Sakurai outclassed India’s Dev Patel, while Korea’s fifth seed Min Hyuk Cho proved too strong for Panshul Uboveja. Indonesia’s Rafalentino Ali Da Costa also advanced after defeating Australia’s Har Abir Sekhon in straight sets.
In the girls’ section, Parthsarthi Mundhe put up a clinical performance to overcome Japan’s Rei Miyamoto 6-2, 6-3, showcasing consistency and control throughout the match.
Deepshika Vinayagamurthy delivered a notable upset, brushing aside eighth seed Ran Wakana of Japan in straight sets. After a dominant first set, Vinayagamurthy held her composure in a tighter second set to close out the match 6-0, 7-5.
Snigdha Kanta continued India’s momentum with a straight-sets win over Japan’s Rito Arima. She raced through the first set before closing out a tighter second to advance 6-1, 7-5.
Results: Main Draw – First Round
Boys:
Arnav Paparkar [2] (IND) bt Tae Woo Kim (KOR) 6-1, 7-6(4);
Samarth Sahita (IND) bt Kunanan Pantaratorn [3] (THA) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4;
Yoshihiro Sakurai (JPN) bt Dev Patel (IND) 6-1, 6-1;
Tavish Pahwa (IND) bt Sungmin Lee (KOR) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3;
Min Hyuk Cho [5] (KOR) bt Panshul Uboveja (IND) 6-2, 6-2;
Hruthik Katakam (IND) bt Raphael Savelli (AUS) 6-1, 6-2;
Rafalentino Ali Da Costa (INA) bt Har Abir Sekhon (AUS) 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-4;
Girls:
Parthsarthi Mundhe (IND) bt Rei Miyamoto (JPN) 6-2, 6-3;
Snigdha Kanta (IND) bt Rito Arima (JPN) 6-1, 7-5;
Mailuodi Lei [2] (CHN) bt Shaivi Dalal (IND) 6-0, 6-2;
Misaki Sekido (JPN) bt Albina Kakenova (KAZ) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1;
Adiya Omarbek (KAZ) bt Sakino Miyazawa [6] (JPN) 6-2, 6-2;
Yui Komada (JPN) bt Jizelle Sibai [3] (AUS) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3;
Deepshika Vinayagamurthy (IND) bt Ran Wakana [8] (JPN) 6-0, 7-5;
Doubles: Boys: First Round:
Kunanan Pantaratorn (THA) / Arnav Paparkar (IND) [1] bt Abhivadya Misra (IND) / Sharan Somasi (IND) 6-1, 3-6, 10-2;
Roger Koike (JPN) / Mao Tazuru (JPN) bt Tavish Pahwa (IND) / Samarth Sahita (IND) 7-6(6), 3-6, 10-3;
Hyu Kawanishi (JPN) [2] / Eito Komada (JPN) bt Mannan Agarwal (IND) / Neel Kelkar (IND) 6-3, 6-2;
Kensuke Kobayashi (JPN) / Koyu Yanagi (JPN) bt Sungmin Lee (KOR) / Seung-Min Oh (KOR) 6-1, 6-4;
Nikolas Baker (AUS) / Ymerali Ibraimi (AUS) bt Aradhya Kshitij (IND) / Har Abir Sekhon (AUS) 7-5, 6-4;
Cody Atkinson (NZL) / Jake Dembo (AUS) [3] bt Ethan Domingo (AUS) / Junseo Jang (KOR) 6-2, 6-4;
Girls:
Eva Korysheva (KAZ) / Adiya Omarbek (KAZ) bt Jensi Kanabar (IND) / Deepshika Vinayagamurthy (IND) 6-2, 6-1;
Aishwarya Jadhav (IND) / Diya Ramesh (IND) bt Rei Miyamoto (JPN) / Mai Sasaki (JPN) 6-4, 6-1;
Emilie Chen (AUS) [3] / Riyo Yoshida (JPN) bt Lisa Anzai (JPN) / Yerkezhan Zhanatayeva (KAZ) 6-0 ret.;
Albina Kakenova (KAZ) / Satima Toregen (KAZ) bt Shaivi Dalal (IND) / Snigdha Kanta (IND) 6-1, 6-2;
Miku Kitaoka (JPN) [2] / Yui Komada (JPN) bt Riho Goto (JPN) / Mailuodi Lei (CHN) 6-3, 6-3;
