KATHMANDU, May 15: Nepal produced mixed results in the South Asia Regional Qualifiers of the ITF Asian U-12 Team Competition that kicked off at Satdobato Tennis Court on Monday.
Nepal overcame the Maldives in the girls' category while it faced defeats against Sri Lanka in the boys' section.
In the girls' singles event, Sharvani Shrestha and Isha Shree Shah emerged victorious while the pair of Isha and Shubhangee Laxmi Shah registered victory in doubles event to help Nepal make the winning start. Sharvani saw off Layan Mohamed Shamin 6-3, 6-0 while Isha defeated Zoya Zubin Saleem 6-1, 6-0. Similarly in the girls' doubles, Nepali pair comprising of Isha and Shubhangee beat the pair of Layan and Zoya in straight sets of 6-0, 6-1.
Similarly in the boys' singles, Aarav Samrat Hada faced defeat at the hands of Sri Lankan opponent Wenuka Kithnula 4-6, 2-6.
In the remaining matches of the girls' category, Bangladesh defeated Bhutan. In the girls' singles, Bangladesh's Sadia Afrin defeated Bhutanese opponent Karma Yuden Dorji 7-6, 6-3.
Meanwhile, the other matches of the girls' category, which was between Mashfia Afrin and Sonam Chuki in the girls' singles alongside the match between the pair of Mashfia and Sadia, Karma and Sonam Chuki Dorji in the girls' doubles were postponed for Tuesday due to rain.
Likewise, Bhutan also faced defeat at the hands of Maldives in the boys' category. Bhutan's Thinley Dorji was defeated by Raudhak Maumoon of Maldives with the score line of 6-1, 5-7, 3-6 in the boy's singles while the match between Jigme Norbu and Mohamed Namiq Shahid in the same event and match between the pair of Thinley and Jigme, Raudhak and Mohamed were postponed for the Tuesday due to rain.
The qualifiers being organized by All Nepal Lawn Tennis Association (ANLTA) has seen the participation of seven nations including host Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In the girls' category, Nepal, India and the Maldives are pitted in Group A while Group B consists of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Similarly, in the boys' category, India, the Maldives and Bhutan are drawn in Group A while Group B includes Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The qualifiers that is being conducted in round robin format will see the top two teams from each group in both girls' and boys' categories advancing to the semifinals while the two finalists will make places in the final rounds to be held in Kazakhstan in December.
ITF Asian U12 Tennis Qualifiers from May 15
