Hooda rallies to down Tangri for maiden national title

Haryanas Krishan Hooda clinched his maiden national crown when he rallied his way past Punjab rival Dhruv Tangri in three hard-fought sets in the boys' final of the 13th Ramesh Desai Memorial Under-16 Tennis Nationals here Saturday.

Weathering hot conditions at the Cricket Club of India, Chandigarh-based Hooda, seeded fifth, carved out a 3-6 6-1 6-4 victory over his Ahmedabad-based rival who was the fourth seed in the tournament to lift the boys' singles crown.

Top-seeded Sanjana Sirimalla of Telangana, the India number one in the age group, also clinched her maiden national title by outclassing Haryana's Renne Singla, the seventh seed from Gurgaon, 6-3 6-1.

Hooda, who lost the opening game after being broken in the eighth game to concede a 3-5 lead, fought back brilliantly in the second which he clinched with the help of two breaks of serve in the 4th and 6th games.

Hooda, who is from Rohtak but trains at the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association, and Tangri traded breaks