Puneeth Manohar, Srishti Kiran aim for titles - The Times of India

BENGALURU: Bengaluru tweens - Puneeth Manohar and Srishti Kiran - have reason to be confident, going into the Asian Tennis Federation's Under-12 team championship in Kazakhstan. They showed form in the qualifying phase of the competition. The duo, top-ranked in the boys and girls U-12 sections in the latest AITA rankings, are focused on helping India claim respective team titles in the ATF Finals, scheduled from Sept 16 in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.Puneeth and Srishti played key roles in helping India win the South Asia qualifying event in Kathmandu, Nepal in May. The six-member team (three boys and three girls) for the Finals features another player from the state, Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar. The Mysuru girl was picked after Khushi Kadian, who was part of the team in Nepal, pulled out due to medical reasons, confirmed Suman Kapur, chairman of AITA's junior selection committee. Sarena Gahlot completes the girls' team while Yuvaan Garg and Aarav Chhallani are the two other boys in the line-up."I'm representing India for the first time, and I'm excited. I want to do well, contribute to the team's results and bring glory to the country" said Padmapriya, ranked No.3 in the U-12 category. Meanwhile, Srishti helped India win the ATF U-12 girls team crown last year, when they beat Chinese Taipei 2-1 in the final. The 12-year-old, ranked No.4 in the U-14 category in the country, is in a good nick, after having competed in Grade A U-14 ATF events in China and Malaysia recently."I'm confident that we will win the title. I have prepared well for the Finals, and it is a great feeling to represent India in the finals once again. Last year also, we won so I am confident of putting on a good show this time too," said Srishti.Srishti is currently playing in the Asian U-14 Junior Championships in Cambodia from where she will fly to Kazakhstan for the Finals. The other members of the boys and girls' teams will leave from New Delhi on Sept 14.The Bengaluru boy has been on the road quite a bit in the summer. Puneeth trained in Alicante, Spain for two weeks. He even competed in Azerbaijan and Spain in the U-14 category."I'm confident of doing well in the Finals. When I was in Spain, I played good matches at a higher level (Tennis Europe), which made me feel good about my game and has helped me prepare for the Finals," said Puneeth. While India and Pakistan have qualified from South Asia in the boy's competition, India and Sri Lanka have made the cut among the girls. The competition will also feature teams from West Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia. Qualified teams: Boys: West Asia: Syria, Saudi Arabia. Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan. South Asia: India, Pakistan. SE Asia: Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam. East Asia: China, Chinese Taipei, Korea.Girls: West Asia: Iran, Lebanon. Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan. South Asia: India, Sri Lanka. SE Asia: Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand. East Asia: China, Chinese Taipei, Korea.Get the latest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 updates, including the full schedule, teams, live scores, points table, and key series stats such as top run-scorers and wicket-takers.