In the recently concluded 17th National Sub-Junior Soft Tennis Tournament at Velir, Maharashtra’s girls’ team achieved a remarkable hat trick by clinching the bronze medal. Organized by the Soft Tennis Federation of India and the Tamil Nadu Soft Tennis Association, the event featured 45 teams from across the country.
The strong Maharashtra team, selected from the sub-junior state level championship in Gondia, showcased outstanding performances throughout the tournament. Triumphing over Andhra Pradesh and Delhi teams, they advanced to the semi-finals. However, their journey was halted in a closely contested match against Uttar Pradesh, resulting in a narrow loss.
Despite the stellar performances by Priyanka Hungerikar and Sonal Kharge, the team had to settle for the bronze medal. Disappointment lingered as the Maharashtra team fell short of realizing their dream to reach the finals for the third consecutive year. Their previous bronze medals were secured in Ahmedabad last year and in Jammu Kashmir in 2021.
The Maharashtra team, under the leadership of Priyanka Hangerikar (Dharashiv), included Sonal Kharge (Buldhana), Palak Pardeshi (Buldhana), Ira Erathan (Mumbai), Vipsana Sonwane (Solapur), Bhakti Jadhav (Solapur), Srishti Narote (Washim), and Vidhi Verma (Buldhana).
Ravindra Sonwane (Mumbai) served as the coach, and Santoshi Kadam (Mumbai) as the team manager. Congratulatory messages poured in from key figures, including General Secretary of Maharashtra Olympic Association Namdev Shirgaonkar, President of Soft Tennis Association of Maharashtra Sunil Poornapatre, and Secretary Ravindra Sonawane.
Just focusing on individual achievements over team efforts undermines the essence of team sports.
