Pune lad creates history in USA

Arjun Kadhe and Julian Cash become the first doubles team in Oklahoma to achieve the top spot in inter-collegiate rankings

Pune’s Arjun Kadhe has been his pursuing studies at Oklahoma State University (OSU) in the US, where he has also had the opportunity to pursue his passion for tennis. Kadhe made history recently when he and his partner became the first doubles team in Oklahoma State history to achieve the top spot in the Inter-collegiate Tennis Association rankings.

Julian Cash and Kadhe produced their best performance and scripted 34 wins, along with prestigious All-America honours at the NCAA Doubles Championship. The last Oklahoma player to gain top spot in the ITA rankings was Oleksandr Nedovyesov in the 2009–10 season.

Kadhe and his partner Jakob Sude had finished in third spot two seasons ago. That was Kadhe’s best personal performance. However this time, he has bettered his performance and created history for the state too.
 He gave credit to OSU coach Jay Udwadia for his success, saying that claiming the top spot was one of his goals, and that the coach put in a lot of efforts for the doubles team.

“I am very excited and this performance will be a great boost before the final season,” said Kadhe, who will probably return to India in 2017. With this performance, he is likely to be considered one of the strong doubles player in the country.

Cash and Kadhe were great against the toughest competition last season, defeating seven ranked opponents including two top 20 foes on their run to becoming All-Americans. The pair is joined by another duo in the rankings, as Lucas Gerch and Jurence Mendoza coming in at number 52. After competing in the NCAA Singles Championship last season, Cash checks in at number 29 in the rankings, while the remaining three Cowboys all cracked the top 100. Kadhe came in at number 87, Mendoza at number 97 and Gerch rounded out the quartet at number 98.

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Originally published on The Golden Sparrow