Date:26/04/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/04/26/stories/2003042605891900.htm

Sport - Tennis

Junior Davis Cup team confident

NEW DELHI APRIL 25. The Indian team wore a confident look, hours before its departure for the Asia-Oceania junior Davis Cup tennis tournament, to be held in Jakarta from April 29 to May 4.

Sanam Singh, Rupesh Roy and Sumit Gupta will be shouldering the responsibility of finding a place for India among the top four in a field of 21 countries.

"The boys have played a tournament on clay and have been training well for the last five days. They had done well in the under-14 tournament last year, and they are confident,'' said Mayur Vasant, the coach of the team.

The competition in Jakarta, featuring Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand, UAE and Uzbekistan will be played on clay.

"We are reaching a few days in advance and should be ready to play a good tournament,'' said Mayur Vasant.

The teams will be divided into four groups for the preliminary league and the top two from each group will make it to the knockout phase. The first four teams will qualify for the World group final to be held in Germany in September.

Meanwhile, the girls' under-16 team of Tara Iyer, Sanaa Bhambri and Kartiki Bhat with Sunil Yajaman as the coach will leave on May 2, for the Asia-Oceania junior Fed Cup qualifying tournament to be held in Kuala Lumpur.

The girls will have a lot to live up to, as the team of Sania Mirza, Ankita Bhambri and Kartiki Bhat had finished fifth in the world last year, from among 85 countries.