The second-seeded Chinese Taipei outclassed India 3-0 in the semifinals of the Asia Oceania World Junior under-14 girls’ tennis tournament at here on Friday.
On a day when China knocked out top seed Australia 2-1, Chinese Taipei was ruthless, especially in the singles.
Shivani Ingle was blanked in 42 minutes by Pei Hsuan Chen. It was a chastening experience for Shivani after she had meted out similar treatment to Darya Detkovskaya of Kazakhstan on Thursday.
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Sathwika Sama battled better against the big-serving and sweet-stroking I-Hsuan Cho, but managed to eke out only three games. Sathwika even managed a break once in the first set.
What was clear was the sound basics of the Taipei girls and the inability of the Indian girls to keep pace in the rallies, even though they tried with all the energy that they could muster. The tendency to wait for the ball rather than pounce on it was the major difference.
In running hard for retrievals, the Indian girls invariably played into the hands of their opponents who crisply belted the ball all over the court.
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The learning curve may continue when India faces Australia on Saturday, in the match for the third place, on the relatively quicker court No.2.
Having met their match in China, which was well served by the tall Tang Qianhui who won both her singles and doubles rubbers, the Aussie girls will be keen to finish the tournament on a strong note.
The results (semifinals): China bt Australia 2-1 [Tang Qianhui bt Baijing Lin 7-5, 6-3; Nima Zhuoma lost to Destanee Aiava 2-6, 1-6; Guo Meiqi and Tang Qianhui bt Destanee Aiava and Baijing Lin 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2].
Chinese Taipei bt India 3-0 [Pei-Hsuan Chen bt Shivani Ingle 6-0, 6-0; I-Hsuan Cho bt Sathwika Sama 6-2, 6-1; Pei-Hsuan Chen and Yang Lee bt Aarja Chakraborty and Sathwika Sama 6-4, 6-4].