Indian boys beat Nepal and Girls beat Pakistan on opening day of South Asia Regional Qualifying

By Saurabh Singh | AITA

Team India got off to a winning start in both Boys and Girls categories at the South Asia Regional Qualifying event of the ITF Asia U12 Team Competition which began today PTF SDA Tennis Complex in Islamabad, Pakistan.

In the first tie of the Round Robin format, the Indian Boys were pitted against Nepal and the Indians blanked out Nepal 3-0, whilst the Girls notched up a well fought 2-1 win over home side Pakistan.

Ojas Mehlawat and Aarav Chawla dropped just one game in their singles matches which lasted for 62 minutes and 45 minutes, respectively. In the doubles rubber, Chawla paired up with Rudra Batham to defeat Nishad Joshi and Darsheel Shreshtha in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 in one hour.

Among the Girls, Haritashee Venkatesh had a comfortable win over Zunaisha Noor 6-1, 6-1 in just an hour. India’s Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi lost the second singles rubber in a three set battle against Haniya Aman. Team Pakistan gave a tough fight to Indian Girls in the doubles rubber as well but the duo of Haritashee Venkatesh and Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi managed to prevail eventually.

On day two of the competition, India will be playing Maldives while Nepal and Pakistan will also go head to head in the Girls category. In the Boys draw, home side Pakistan is scheduled to play Nepal.

The South Asia Regional Qualifying tournament is organized by Pakistan Tennis Federation and sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Asian Tennis Federation (ATF).

At the conclusion of the Qualifying tournament, two nations will earn their spot at the Finals of the 2021 ITF Asia 12 & Under Team Competition to be held in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan during the week of 22nd November.

RESULTS

India 3-0 Nepal (Boys)

Ojas Mehlawat (IND) Def. Nishad Joshi (NEP) 6-1, 6-0

Aarav Chawla (IND) Def. Boriss Adhikari (NEP) 6-1, 6-0

Aarav Chawla/Rudra Batham (IND) Def. Nishad Joshi/Darseel Shreshtha (NEP) 6-2, 6-1

India 2-1 Pakistan (Girls)

Haritashee Venkatesh (IND) Def. Zunaisha Noor (PAK) 6-1, 6-1

Haniya Aman (PAK) Def. Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi (IND) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2

Haritashee Venkatesh/Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi (IND) Def. Zunaisha Noor/Haniya Aman (PAK) 6-4, 4-6, 11-9