The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : India beats Japan for the title

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Sunday, May 04, 2008
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India beats Japan for the title

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Yuki Bhambri and Saurabh Singh won their singles matches to help India beat the second-seeded Japan 2-0 in the final of the Asia-Oceania Junior Davis Cup under-16 tennis tournament at the R.K. Khanna Stadium here on Saturday.

This is for the second time in recent years that the Indian boys are winning the regional competition. Rupesh Roy, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Sanam Singh under captain Sandeep Kirtane had won the tournament in Sri Lanka in 2004.

The 15-year-old Bhambri, the fifth ranked under-18 player in the world, outplayed the hard-hitting Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-4, 6-1 in the second singles featuring the No. 1 players from both teams. Earlier, Saurabh also maintained his unbeaten record with a fighting 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Motoaki Kita in a battle that lasted over two hours.

The top four teams from the zone have qualified for the Junior Davis Cup finals to be held in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, from September 23 to 28.

The Indian under-14 boy’s team had qualified in Shenzen, China, a fortnight ago for the World Group finals.

The under-16 girls will compete in the Asia-Oceania junior Fed Cup in Thailand from Monday.

The results (final): India beat Japan 2-0 (Saurabh Singh bt Motoaki Kita 6-2, 3-6, 6-1; Yuki Bhambri bt Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-4, 6-1).

The final placings: 1. India, 2. Japan, 3. Australia, 4. Chinese Taipei, 5. New Zealand, 6. China, 7. Thailand, 8. Philippines, 9. Korea, 10. Indonesia, 11. Malaysia, 12 Hong Kong, 13. Kazakhstan, 14. Uzbekistan, 15. Pakistan and 16. Singapore.

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