Junior Davis Cup: Indian team qualifies for World Group after 5 years
JUNIOR TENNIS PLAYERS Siddhant Banthia and Adil Kalyanpur helped their team qualify for the World Group after winning their respective matches at the Junior Davis Cup. This comes after five years as the Indian team confirmed their place after beating Australia 2-0 held in New Delhi today.
#CTL2015 juniors Adil Kalyanpur, @dhakshin_suresh celebrate India's 2-0 win over Australia in the U-16 @DavisCup pic.twitter.com/beTybXPIad
— CTL India (@CTLAdvantage) April 9, 2016
Siddhant defeated Thomas James Bosancic 6-2 6-4 in the first singles while Adil sealed it for India with his win after beating Alexander Crnokrak 6-2, 6-4.
India sealed the third place finish in the Asia\Oceania zone to qualify for the World Group.
The Indian team had lost to China 1-2 and Japan 1-2 while they defeated Indonesia 3-0, Korea 2-1 and Thailand (2-1) in previous matches.
The President of AITA Anil Khanna announced cash award of Rs 1 lakh each for all five players, including the reserves, Abhimanyu Bannenreddy and Suresh Dhakshineswar.
"It's a kind of scholarship for the kids. They have done well and we are happy to reward their performance," Khanna, who is also the ITF Vice President.
The Indian team's coach and captain Vishal Uppal was thrilled with his players' performance.
"Honestly, we could have won the zone but we lost very close matches to China and Japan. They are top teams. Nobody gave us a chance but our boys showed that they were really good. The players fought their hearts out," Uppal told PTI.
"I am extremely delighted with the team chemistry. The reserve players played a great part in team preparations. And Megh Patel was a big bonus for us. I took a risk to combine him with Adil but it really paid off in doubles. He brought a lot of energy in the side."
