Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, April 30: Chinmay Pradhan and his coach Santosh Mallick teamed up together and created history by becoming the first pair from Orissa to bag a men’s double title in an AITA event. The duo Thursday defeated Taha Kapadia from Telangana and Sivadeep Kosaraju of Andhra Pradesh 6-4, 4-6, 10-4 in the men’s doubles final at Raipur.
In fact the two decided to pair up together at Raipur as Chinmay was not getting a partner. And then they had a fairy tale ending. “I frequently travel with Chinmay as coach these days,” stated Santosh over the phone from Raipur. “As he was not getting a partner, I decided to play with him.”
It was not easy for the combo. In their first round tie they were facing three match points but managed to scrape through. “Every match was tough,” stated Santosh. “The scoreline in the final also proves how tough it was. But yes, we are very happy at becoming the first men’s doubles team from Orissa to win an AITA event.”
Santosh who has retired from competitive tennis also stated that even though he has no plans for coming back to on a permanent basis again, he will play doubles with his student whenever he gets the chance to do so. “I will be travelling with Chinmay for the next 18 months or so. Whenever, I will get the chance, I will play with him,” he informed. “As a coach it will help me correct Chinmay if I am on the court with him. After all match situations are always different from training sessions,” he added.
In men’s singles event, top seed Chinmay entered the final after prevailing over Sivadeep 6-0, 6-2.