Across he board success for the PC at the Under 17 Nationals 2018
The WMPC had one of their most successful weekends in their history at the Under 17 Nationals in Milton Keynes. Of the five available titles, the WMPC took two golds in both the mixed doubles and ladies doubles respectively. Four girls (Asmita Chaudhari, Kiara Henry, Victoria Liang & Khushi Naik) competed in the tournament to a very high level and should be extremely proud of their efforts. Kiara Henry won her first ever national title in the ladies’ doubles alongside Pamela Reyes (Buckinghamshire) after a hard fought three set final against Evans/Van Leeuwen (Warks/Bucks), an amazing achievement for Kiara, who really raised her level at key moments during the weekend. In the singles, she lost out 22-20 in the third set against the 3rd seed, Gauri Shidhaye, who went on to reach the final. Asmita Chaudhari, with a lot of pressure to win at the U17 level after her successes at the U19 Nationals, did herself proud with collecting another national title in the mixed doubles alongside Ethan Rose (Oxfordshire). After a
Left to right
Peter, Asmita, Victoria, Kiara and Lorraine
tough semi-final, they were in a higher class than their opponents Reyes/Green (Bucks/Surrey), who was looking for her third national title in one day! Asmita also picked up a bronze medal in the ladies doubles (with partner Annie Lado), missing out in two close sets against Evans/Van Leeuwen. The fourth medal of the weekend came from Victoria Liang in the mixed doubles. After an extremely good season on the circuit, Victoria and partner Jack Taylor made it to the semi-finals after two good wins, before taking on Reyes/Green, losing out in straight games, despite some flashes of brilliance. Khushi Naik, who has only been playing for THREE years, came into the ladies singles event seeded 5/8, but was given a tough draw in the form of Tashvi Parab (Bucks), who was the runner-up at the U15 Nationals the weekend before. After a slow start in the first set, Khushi recovered from 20-17 down in the second set, to take it 22-20, before sadly losing out 21-18 in the third set. An extremely high level match from Khushi, who is improving every time she steps on court. She also reached the quarter finals of the ladies doubles (with Sophie Watson), losing out to Asmita and Annie Lado. As I’m sure you can understand the WMPC is extremely proud of all the girls playing at the Nationals this weekend, and for four of the fifteen medals available to be coming to the WMPC it is an amazing achievement. These girls will continue to work hard, but we would love to see some boys at these events next year too! Head Coach, Lorraine Cole said, ‘It was very emotional, hot and exciting at the same time and I am extremely proud of the results we have achieved from all the girls who have come through the programme we offer.’
Peter Clegg – WMPC Coach
