Lalitpur, May 18

Nepali team of Aryan Giri and Aarav Samrat Hada stunned India 2-1 and advanced to the boys’ section final of the South Asia Qualifying Event for the ITF Asian U-12 Team Competition here at the Satdobato Tennis Complex today.

Hada defeated Nithis Balaji Latha Mallusamu 6-2, 6-3 to put the hosts ahead before Ayushman Arjeria levelled the scores with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Aryan Giri in the singles matches. Hada and Giri then registered a hard-fought 7-5, 6-4 victory over the Indian duo of Arjeria and Krishang Raguvanshi in the doubles match.

The victory meant the Nepali team earned the berth in the ITF Competition to be held in Kazakhstan in December. Nepal will face now face Bangladesh in the final, Bangladesh defeated Bhutan 3-0. Md Roman Hossain defeated Thinley Dorji 6-0, 6-1, while Mahadi Hasan Alve beat Jigme Norbu 6-2, 6-2 in the singles matches before the Bangladeshi pair registered a 6-0, 6-0 victory in the doubles match.

In girls’ section, Sri Lanka and India made it to the finals and earned tickets for Kazakhstan. Sri Lanka outplayed Nepal 3-0 in the first semi-final match. In the singles matches, Dinethya Dharmarate defeated Sharvani Shrestha 7-5, 7-6(1), while and Heshani Imanga bagged a double bagel against Isha Shree Shah before the Sri Lankan pair defeated the Nepali duo 6-1, 6-2 in the doubles match.

Likewise, India hammered Bangladesh 3-0 to book a place in the final. Sweta Samanta and Anjali Rathi registered identical 6-1, 6-1 victories over Sadia Afrin and Mashfia Afrin respectively in the singles matches. Samanta then teamed up with Shruti Ahlawat to beat Sadia Afrin and Dipanita Mittra 6-0, 6-0 in the doubles match to seal the thrashing victory.

In other playoff matches, Pakistan registered a 3-0 victory over the Maldives in boys’ section, while Bhutan thumped the Maldives by the same scoreline in girls’ category matches. The finals are slated for Friday.