World Junior Tennis: Indian women to take on Jordan in the opener

Captain Radhika Tulpule was happy with the form and fitness of the team and hoped that the girls would be at their best, first to progress from group stage and later clinch a berth for the World Group Finals.

The Indian girls have been clubbed with Korea, Philippines and Jordan in pool-A of the tournament.

The Indian girls have been clubbed with Korea, Philippines and Jordan in pool-A in the Asia Oceania World Junior under-14 tennis championship to be played in Bangkok from Monday.

Sarah Dev, Malikaa Marathe, Sandeepti Singh Rao will take on Jordan in the opener. Captain Radhika Tulpule was happy with the form and fitness of the team and hoped that the girls would be at their best, first to progress from group stage and later clinch a berth for the World Group Finals to be staged in Prostejov, Czech Republic, in August.

The three Indian teams in the Junior Davis Cup, Junior Fed Cup and the World Juniors in boys had finished 10th, 11th and fifth respectively. The teams could have fare better and fancied their chances of qualification, if the doubles teams could strike the best combination.

The work load also has to be judiciously shared between the three players, as it is a tough exercise to play singles and doubles with energy for six consecutive days against some of the best players from different countries.

Sarah, Malikaa and Sandeepti have all been faring very well in a series of tournaments first in the Road to Wimbledon and later in Asian under-14 competition. They have the potential to set the record straight, and take India forward.

The groupings:

Pool-A: Korea, Philippines, Jordan, India.

Pool-B: Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Hong Kong.

Pool-C: Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan, Indonesia.

Pool-D: Australia, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, China.