The Indian challenge started on a bright note on a rainy morning as Shweta Rana and Rishika Sunkara won their doubles match 6-4, 6-0 against Sara Mansoor and Usna Suhail of Pakistan.
Natasha Palha played a good second round match against Noppawan Lertcheewakarn of Thailand, but missed her chances to at least make a better fight of it, after a good start.
The experienced Thai won 7-5, 6-3, but not before Natasha teased her in strong rallies.
In the team competition final, Chinese Taipei women toppled defending champion China 2-1, with Su Wei Hsieh and Yung Jan Chan combining brilliantly in the decisive doubles, against Zheng Jie and Zhang Shuai.
The class of Aleksandr Nedovyesov and Mikhail Kukushkin was never in doubt, as they thumped the big serves and explosive groundstrokes to make the talented Di Wu and Ze Zhang look pedestrian, as Kazakhstan beat China 2-0 in the men’s final.
It must be some consolation for the Indian team, as Sanam Singh and Yuki Bhambri had pushed the Kazakhs hard in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Saketh Myneni and Sania Mirza have been seeded second and will be playing the seventh-seeded Chinese Taipei duo Yen Hsun Lu and Su Wei Hsieh in the mixed doubles.
With the organisers taking doubles ranking into account, Lu’s rank of 488, as compared to his 43 in singles, pulled the Taipei team down.
The mixed doubles draw does feature Zheng Jie, who was ranked as high as No. 3 in women’s doubles in 2006. She is ranked 15 now, and has paired with Ze Zhang, as the fourth seed.
The results:
Team (finals): Men: Kazakhstan bt China 2-0 (Aleksandr Nedovyesov bt Di Wu 6-4, 6-0; Mikhail Kukushkin bt Ze Zhang 6-0, 3-6, 6-4).
Women: Chinese Taipei bt China 2-1 (Yung Jan Chan bt Duan Yingying 7-6(8), 7-6(4); Su Wei Hsieh lost to Zheng Jie 6-3, 5-7, 2-6; Yung Jan Chan & Su Wei Hsieh bt Zhang Shuai & Zheng Jie 6-2, 7-5).
