India will fight for seventh place after losing 2-1 to the Philippines in the Asia Oceania Junior Davis Cup under-16 tennis tournament in Kuching, Malaysia, on Friday.
After B.R. Nikshep gave India a rousing start with a quick victory, Paramveer Singh Bajwa lost a close match. In the decisive doubles, Alex Solanki and Bajwa battled for three hours before losing the tie.
India will play Uzbekistan for the seventh spot on the morrow.
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Meanwhile, in the semifinals, featuring teams that have qualified for the World Group competition, top seed Korea beat Hong Kong 3-0 without dropping a set, while fourth seed Japan pipped second seed Chinese Taipei 2-1. Shohei Chikami won both the singles and doubles matches for Japan. Incidentally, both the rubbers ended abruptly with Cing Yang Meng of Taipei retiring early in the second set of singles and midway through the third set of doubles.
The results (5-8th places): Philippines bt India 2-1 [Eric Olivarez jr. lost to B.R. Nikshep 3-6, 2-6; Alberto Lim jr. bt Paramveer Singh Bajwa 6-3, 7-6(5); Eric Olivarez jr. & Alberto Lim jr. bt Alex Solanki & Paramveer Singh Bajwa 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-3].