The Odisha girl added the U-14 singles crown with a 6-1, 6-3 emphatic win against Parthsarthi Mundhe, also from Maharashtra, in the summit clash. Overall, Aahan, a student of St Xaviers High School, Kedargouri, won 13 matches in a row to claim the coveted double crown.

The double delight at the prestigiousFenesta Open, regarded as the toughest national tennis tournament, made Aahan richer by 200 AITA ranking points and a cash award of Rs 71,000. Meanwhile, she reached the summit of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) U-14 girls rankings with a total of 1193.25 points to her name.

A former AITA U-12 girls No 1 ranker, Aahan dedicated her latest success to her new coach Santosh Kumar Mallik, mother Kiran Nayak and mentor Chinmay Pradhan. "I am grateful for their support and guidance, which made this victory possible," she said.

However, despite winning four international and over 33 all India titles till date, Aahan faces a roadblock to accomplish her future dream of playing a Grand Slam tournament. Due to lack of corporate or government sponsorship, she is finding it extremely difficult to harness funds to sustain her flourishing career.

“Tennis is an expensive sport to pursue. All the expenses to bring Aahan thus far has been borne by her family. Though the State Government has a scheme to provide financial assistance to promising talents and help them achieve greater success, Aahan has not yet received any funding despite applying several times for the same,’’ lamented her mother.

With the new BJP Government in power, one hopes that the Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj will take note of Aahan’s worries and extend all possible help to enable her to bring more glory for the state and the country.
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TOP: Aahan poses with her trophies after winning the U-14 and U-16 singles titles at the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship in New Delhi on 12 October 2024.
RIGHT: Aahan with her coach Santosh Kumar Mallik at the Fenesta Open in New Delhi on 12 October 2024.