KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 18

Nepal national tennis team defeated Tajikistan 3-0 in the Billie Jean King Cup in Bahrain today.

Drawn in Pool C along with third-seeded Tajikistan, fifth-seeded Brunei and Qatar in the Group3 tournament, Nepal made a flying start in their bid to earn a promotion.

Nepal got the opportunity to participate in the first Billie Jean King Cup tournament after they moved into Group 3 in the ITF rankings, informed team manager Ajay Bista.

Nepal No 2 Mahika Rana defeated Malika Rahimova 6-0, 6-0 in the first singles match, before No 1 player Abhilasha Bista sealed the victory when she bagged a double bagel against Yosuman Salimova in second singles match. Sunira Thapa and Rayana Shah then made it 3-0 when they outplayed Fazila Murodova and Malika Rahimova 6-0, 6-0 in the doubles match.

Nepal, who are unseeded in the tournament along with Qatar, will take on fifth-seeded Brunei on Thursday. The Nepali team will end the league campaign with a match against Qatar on Friday.

A total of 14 countries are taking part in the Group 3 tournament in Bahrain and they are divided into four pools. Top team each from all four pools will make it to the semi-finals, while the top two countries will earn promotion to Group 2.

A version of this article appears in the print on October 19, 2023, of The Himalayan Times