New Delhi: Indians Rishika Sunkara and Shweta Rana as well as Thailand’s Kamonwam Buayan and China’s Wang XI-Yao qualified for the main draw of the QNET Open $50,000 ITF women’s tournament that will begin the DLTA Tennis Complex here from Monday.

The 21-year-old Rishika Sunkara, rated highly in her junior days, overcame early resistance from Pakistan’s Ushna Sohail on Sunday morning before breezing to a straight-set win against Hong Kong’s Ho Ching Wu to make it to the tournament proper where there will be a total of eight Indians, including four wild card entrants.

India’s leading player, Ankita Raina, who made it to the singles quaterfinals and won doubles title in the $25,000 ITF event in Mumbai earlier this week, will be seeking to make her presence felt. Prathana G Thombare, who won the Asian Games women’s doubles bronze medal with Sania Mirza, will be looking to overcome memories of her first-round defeat in Mumbai and rediscover the form that helped her win ITF titles in Chennai and Hyderabad earlier this year.

Prerna Bhambri, Natasha Palha, Bhuvana Kalva and Sharon Sanchana Paul have been accorded wild card entries.

With a couple of top-200 players in WTA ranking taking part, the tournament, promises to be competitive. Patricia Mayr-Achleinter (Austria) who is just outside the top 100 will look to pick up some crucial points. She is ranked 107 while Anastasiya Vasilyeva (Ukraine) is the others top-200 player. Serbia’s 17-year-old Ivana Jorovic, the world’s top junior player this year will also be one to watch out for.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore will inaugurate the tournament at 10.00 a.m. on Monday.

All India Tennis Association President Anil Khanna said AITA is aiming to bring more ITF events to benefit Indian players. “The QNET Open would certainly help our players secure big WTA ranking points and give them a chance to compete against strong opposition which would help their game. I would like to thank QNET who have been Indian tennis in a big way.”


Qualifying results (Indians unless specified):

Third round: Shweta Rana beat Arantxa Andrady 6-4, 6-2; Kamonwam Buayam (Thailand) beat Riya Bhatia 6-0, 6-1; Wang Xi-Yao (China) beat Vaniya Dangwal 6-3, 6-3; Rishika Sunkara beat Ho Ching Wu (Hong Kong) 6-3, 6-1.

Second round: Arantxa Andrady beat Sahan Shetty 6-3, 6-2; Shweta Rana beat Vanshika Sawhney 3-6, 7-5, 6-2; Kamonwam Buayam beat Amrita Mukherjee 6-0, 6-2; Riya Bhatia beat Sadfmoh Tolibova 2-6, 6-3, 7-5; Vaniya Dangwal beat Nidhi Chilumula 6-3, 6-3; Wang Xi-Yao beat Manya Nagpal 6-3, 6-3; Rishika Sunkara beat Ushna Suhail (Pakistan) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1; Ho Ching Wu beat Vineeta Singh 6-0, 6-4.



Title sponsor, QNET, which is official Direct Selling partner of Manchester City Football Club (MCFC), focuses on strengthening its global brand reputation and identity through strategic sports sponsorships and has successfully associated with leading sportsmen including legendary cricketer Muttiah Muralidaran and one of Asia’s greatest golfers Thongchai Jaidee.

QNET sponsored Davis Cup India Team against Indonesia in Bengaluru during 2013 and also supported the Davis Cup World Group play off tie between India and Serbia this year. Over the years, QNET has supported motorsports, football, basketball, hockey, rugby and badminton in other parts of the world.

As a prominent Asian-born Direct Selling Company with a global presence, QNET provides a wide range of life enhancing products that are offered through its proprietary e-commerce platform to customers and distributors in over 100 countries. The company has 25 offices and agencies worldwide, and more than 50 stockists in a number of countries.

QNET is a member of the Direct Selling Association of Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. QNET is also a part of the Hong Kong Health Food Association and the Health Supplements Industry Association of Singapore among others.

QNET is active in sports sponsorships around the world, including Formula 1, football, badminton and more, due to the company’s strong belief that the drive, passion and teamwork of sports mirrors that of QNET.