Adil Kalyanpur and Siddhant Banthia kept India on course for qualification as the host beat the fifth-seeded Japan 2-1 and topped Group C in the Asia Oceania world junior under-14 tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex here on Wednesday.
The Japanese relied on sound basics and good footwork, but the Indian lads played a superior game to clinch the two singles rubbers without dropping a set.
There was no dearth of drama, though, as Adil recovered from a tough start to put India ahead with a 7-6(3), 6-4 victory over the talented left-hander Kai Kawano. Adil saved two breakpoints and endured seven deuces before holding serve in the second game of the match. However, he settled into a good rhythm and retained a high degree of concentration to pull through in straight sets.
Siddhant, similarly, missed two chances to serve out the match at 5-4 and 6-5 in the second set, but ensured a smooth passage for the host in the tie-break.
In the inconsequential doubles rubber, Japan won the first set before Adil retired with a painful arm with India leading 3-0 in the second.
In the quarterfinals, India will be challenged by the seventh-seeded New Zealand. The Kiwis, who lost to top seed Korea 3-0, came through on the basis of having won more matches after being tied on one win each with Kazakhstan and Lebanon.
The other quarterfinals will feature Korea versus Japan, second seed Australia against Thailand, and fourth seed Chinese Taipei against Indonesia, as all the eight seeded teams made the cut.
The results (league):
Group A: Korea bt New Zealand 3-0; Kazakhstan bt Lebanon 3-0.
Group B: Australia bt Indonesia 3-0; Uzbekistan bt Turkmenistan 3-0.
Group C: India bt Japan 2-1 [Adil Kalyanpur bt Kai Kawano 7-6(3), 6-4; Siddhant Banthia bt Naoki Tajima 6-2, 7-6(2); Adil & Vikash Singh lost to Kazuma Aoki & Kawano 2-6, 3-0 retired]; Hong Kong bt Singapore 3-0 [Yue Ching Ho bt Gabriel Chum 6-1, 6-1; Zhang Zheng Qi Jonathan bt Shawn Ng 6-1, 6-2; Chau Ka Wai Arthur & Ching Ho bt Chum & Ng 6-0, 6-2].
Group D: Chinese Taipei bt Thailand 3-0; China bt Malaysia 3-0.
