The Indian girls began their campaign in the Under-19 category on a winning note, posting a 3-0 triumph over Bangladesh in the South Asian Youth Table Tennis tournament here on Sunday.
Yashaswini Ghorpade put India in the lead when she beat Oisha Rohman of Bangladesh in straight games at the Dorjee Khandu Indoor Stadium. Suhana Saini followed it up with another easy win over Sai Khoy Marma, and Taneesha Kotecha completed the task with yet another straight-game victory over Resmi Tanchangya.
Though not linked to the July Asian Youth Championships in Doha, the U-15 Indian girls scored another 3-0 win over Bangladesh to put up a grand show.
Bangla, Lanka boys on the way
In the Under-19 boys category, Bangladesh won their first round 3-0, beating the Maldives, while Nepal managed to take a game off Sri Lanka, who won 3-1. These triumphs have taken Bangladesh and Sri Lanka closer to qualification.
In the Under-15 section, the Sri Lankan boys thumped Nepal 3-0, while Bangladesh beat Maldives by the same margin. However, the Sri Lankan girls won their first round against the Maldives, and Nepal downed Bangladesh by an identical margin of 3-0.
With the team events in both categories getting over on Monday, it is up to the teams to pull up their socks and make the most of the situation.
In the morning session, Sri Lanka began the hunt for a spot in right earnest when their Under-19 girls beat Bangladesh 3-0 in the first round. Divya, LS Kulappuwawadu and Nadithi Annadige were the protagonists doing the job for the island nation in the five-team league.
Later the girls from Nepal struggled before overcoming Maldives 3-2 in their first-round match. Their results had more academic interest than anything else as the race for one of the two qualification spots remained with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
