Abhinansu Borthakur Stuns Top Seed V M Ranjeet in Tata Steel AITA Tournament Semis

Ritabrata Sarkar to Face Borthakur in Men’s Singles Final; Doubles Final Lineup Set

Third-seeded Abhinansu Borthakur of Bengal pulled off a stunning upset against top seed V M Ranjeet in the semi-finals of the Men’s Singles category at the ongoing Tata Steel AITA Men’s National Ranking Tennis Tournament (1 Lac Prize Money) 2024 held at the JRD Tata Sports Complex.

JAMSHEDPUR – In a surprising turn of events, Abhinansu Borthakur, seeded third in the draw, overpowered the higher-ranked V M Ranjeet, who holds the 13th position in India, to secure a spot in the Men’s Singles final of the Tata Steel AITA Men’s National Ranking Tennis Tournament.

The opening set witnessed both players holding their serves, leading to a tie-breaker, where Borthakur showcased his superiority by clinching it with a comfortable 7-3 margin.

Ranjeet had a shaky start to the second set, dropping his serve and allowing Borthakur to gain a 2-0 lead.

However, Borthakur failed to capitalize on the advantage, as Ranjeet quickly broke back, putting the score at 3-2 in Ranjeet’s favor.

The set once again reached a tie-breaker at 6 games all, and Borthakur, who had previously triumphed at the Beldih Club AITA Men’s 1 lac event in November 2023, sealed the breaker with a 7-4 win.

In the Men’s Singles final, Borthakur will face his statemate Ritabrata Sarkar, the second seed, who took just over 90 minutes to defeat unseeded Sajal Kesarwani in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.

Later in the day, Borthakur teamed up with Vilasier Khate of Nagaland to reach the Men’s Doubles final, outclassing the pair of Anshuman Singh (UP) and Bicky Sagolshem (MN) with a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

They will face the duo of Ritabrata Sarkar and Sarthak Suden of Delhi, who prevailed over Aditya Satpathy (OD) and Md Fardeen (WB) in a closely contested match, 2-6, 6-2, 10-5.

The tournament’s final day will commence with matches starting at 8:00 am, followed by the Prize Distribution Ceremony, tentatively scheduled for 1:00 pm.

The stunning upset by Abhinansu Borthakur against the top-seeded V M Ranjeet has added an exciting twist to the tournament, setting the stage for an intriguing final showdown in both the Men’s Singles and Doubles categories.