Siddhant Banthia wins Asian junior tennis championship

India's Siddhant Banthia and Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand emerged boys and girls singles champions at the 2nd HCL Asian B1 Junior Tennis Championship here Saturday.

Fourth-seeded local boy Banthia outplayed second-seeded Sergey Fomin Of Uzbekistan 6-1 6-4 in boys' final at the Deccan Gymkhana courts here. In the girls' title clash, third-seeded Thai player Mananchaya got the better of Priska Madelyn Nugroho of Indonesia 7-6(5), 6-3. "It was the best win in my juniors' career. I wanted to win this tournament. I lost in the finals last year.

I was confident going into matches," said Banthia after clinching the boys crown. "The semi-final and final matches were the toughest. Both the players were higher seeded players, there was pressure but I know these courts, so played accordingly," he added.

The winner got 280 ITF Points and Trophy, while runner-up got 170 points and trophy.

(With inputs from agencies.)