LALITPUR, FEBRUARY 01

Nepali players Torus Rawat and Saloni Tamang advanced to the second round of the J5 Kathmandu ITF World Tennis Tour Circuit-I Tournament here on Monday. Rawat defeated his country mate Nihal Jung Bahadur Thapa 6-2, 6-1 in boys' singles event, while Tamang beat India's Kristi Boro 6-3, 6-4 in girls' section.

Nine Nepali players - Nischal Kayastha, Prasidha Moktan, Aryan Giri, Aki Zuben Rawat, Nisan Shrestha, Aarav Samrat Hada, Evyak Joshi, Pritam Pariyar and Chirag Timilsina - faced defeats in boys' section, whereas five girls - Sharvani Shrestha, Shreya Bhattarai, Prerana Koirala, Isha Shree Shah and Azaa Regmi - lost their matches on the opening day. A total of 64 players - 32 each in boys and girls sections - from nine countries are taking part in the tournament that features singles and doubles categories.

Hosts Nepal have fielded 12 boys and 14 girls in the February 1-6 tournament organised by Nepal Tennis Association.