DEHRADUN, Feb 6: SD Prajwal Dev won both his singles and doubles matches against Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) to steer top seeds Karnataka to the final of the tennis event at the National Games here on Thursday.
Karnataka, the reigning champions, will take on second seeds Tamil Nadu in the gold medal match on Friday.
Tamil Nadu overcame a formidable Maharashtra 2-1 in the other semifinal.
Niki Poonacha played the first match, losing 4-6, 6-1, 1-6 to Services’ Rishab Agarwal.
It was then left to the experienced Prajwal Dev to keep Karnataka’s hopes alive.
The 28-year-old, despite suffering mid-match blues against Ishaque Iqbal, came good when it mattered the most.
He played solidly to come through 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to take the match to the decisive doubles rubber.
After a break, Prajwal teamed up with Niki, with whom he had won a Challenger doubles title two year ago, to defeat Faisal Qamar and Rishab Agarwal 6-3 6-4 and storm into the final.
In a late evening quarterfinal on Wednesday, Karnataka women bowed out of medal contention with a 1-2 loss to Tamil Nadu. Karnataka meanwhile lead the medals tally with 56 medals.(PTI)
