Puneeth Manohar had a memorable fortnight as he clinched the boys’ singles title in the first week and finished runner-up in doubles in the ITF Asia 14 & Under tennis championships in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Puneeth defeated Hong Kong’s Him Wong in the boys’ final while Srishti Kiran went down to Ke-Chieh Hsu of Chinese Taipei in the girls’ final in the week ending April 6.
Srishti also had a runner-up finish in the doubles, combining with Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar in a losing cause against Ke-Chieh Hsu and Meng Chi of Chinese Taipei in the title decider.
The strong show helped India finish on the top of the standings ahead of Taipei and Korea.

The following week saw Puneeth pair with Taanish Nanda to settle for second place in the doubles after going down to 6-2 6-2 to Indonesia’s Ethan Frans and Komang Purustama.
Srishti once again finished second best in singles, as Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Ke-chieh beat her 6-1 6-4.
Uzbekistan’s Saidaslam Farkhodov took the boys’ singles crown with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Frans and Taipei’s Ke-Chieh and Meng Chi lifted the doubles trophy with a 6-2, 6-1 overwhelming of Thailand’s A. Paisarnpanuwong and P. Daungkhiaw.

The strong show in Colombo brought Puneeth and Srishti some added bonanza as they both got picked in the ITF Asian 14 & Under team that will compete across Europe later this year.
Besides, Puneeth had the added incentive of qualifying for the 14 & Under Wimbledon tournament.
“Following his stellar performances against the best players in the region, Puneeth has officially secured his qualification for the 14 & Under Wimbledon tournament,” according to RoundGlass Tennis Academy in Chandigarh, where the teenager trains.
The RoundGlass Tennis Academy also supports Junior Davis Cup team member Ribhav Saroha, men’s singles No. 1 Sumit Nagal and doubles No. 1 Yuki Bhambri.