MSSA: Kashish Bote skips exam to emerge tennis champ

Kashish Bote of St Paul's HS (Dadar) defeated Bhumika Tripathi of Canossa Convent (Andheri) 8-2 to win the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) girl's U-12 inter-school tennis title at the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association courts, Cooperage on Friday.

Kashish Bote of St Paul's (Dadar) returns to Bhumika Tripathi of Canossa Convent (Andheri) in the U-12 MSSA inter-school tennis final at the MSLTA courts in Cooperage yesterday. Pic/Suresh K.K

The 11-year-old had to skip her school's mid-term examinations to be able to play the tournament.

"The tournament that began on October 5 coincided with my exams, so I decided to skip my papers. I missed five papers - Hindi, English, Mathematics, Marathi and Science. My school was kind enough to give me special permission to appear for my exams from Monday (Oct 12) onwards," said the Lalbaug resident, who travels almost daily all the way to Vashi to practice at the Navi Mumbai Sports Association (NMSA).

Kashish, who won the U-10 title in 2013 and finished fourth in the U-12 category last year, is already eyeing the U-14 title next year. "I need to improve a lot to win the U-14 title next year," said the Class VI student, who credited her coach Shahid Iqbal for her success.