India score second win in
Jr Davis Cup qualifier

India scored their second victory, beating Hong Kong 3-0 in the Asia-Oceania qualifiers for the Junior Davis Cup tennis tournament, at the National Tennis Centre, in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur, on Wednesday.

Earlier on Tuesday, the team had beaten Uzbekistan 2-1 in their first match.

India, represented by Karan Rastogi, Tushar Liberhan and J Vishnu Vasdhan, are seeded third in the event and placed in Group 3 along with Uzbekistan, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

India No 2 Tushar Liberhan started well, registering a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Michael Lai.

Karan Rastogi, the India No 1, then defeated Martin Sayer 6-2, 7-5.

Rastogi and Vasdhan teamed up in the doubles and whipped Chow / Lai 6-4, 6-0 to complete the rout.

India are close to reaching the quarter-finals. After two rounds they lead Group 2 with a 2-0 (5-1 in matches) record. Uzbekistan are second with a 1-1 (3-3) record, and New Zealand, with a 1-1 (3-3) record, are third.

In the other Group 3 match, Uzbekistan defeated New Zealand 2-1.

In Group One, Australia beat Pakistan 3-0 while China defeated Malaysia 3-0.

In Group Two, South Korea blanked Sri Lanka 3-0 while The Philippines edged past Iran 2-1.

In Group 4, Indonesia beat Chinese Taipei 3-0, Japan won both their played today against Thailand and Syria 3-0, while Thailand defeated Chinese Taipei 2-1.

Four out of the 17 competing teams will advance to the finals, to be held in France in September.