Daily Sports

The script followed an expected course as India posted anticipated victories in the league stage of all four sections and inched closer to qualifying for the second stage of the 15th Asian junior table tennis championship on Wednesday.

The opening day’s action of the team championship at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here was without the Chinese juniors, the Korean boys and the Hong Kong girls who were seeded into the quarterfinals by virtue of being the finalists of the last championship. With three teams from two groups joining the seeded teams in the last-eight stage, the junior boys from Japan, Iran, Chinese Taipei and India kept alive their chances of qualifying.

India, having already beaten Thailand 3-0, is expected to easily beat last-placed Bahrain and join Taipei and DPR Korea as the qualifiers from Group ‘B’.

In the junior girls’ section, India, Korea and Thailand are through to the last-eight stage from Group ‘B’. In the cadet sections, where the two group toppers go into the semifinals, while two teams from each group play the quarterfinals, the Indian boys just about managed to beat Sri Lanka 3-2 and now need to beat Singapore to qualify. The Indian cadet girls will have to beat Thailand to retain their place in the knock-out stage.

The results (League, Team championships): Junior boys: Group ‘A’: Japan bt Pakistan 3-0; Japan bt Singapore 3-0; Iran bt Hong Kong 3-1; Iran bt Pakistan 3-0; Hong Kong bt Kazakhstan 3-0; Singapore bt Kazakhstan 3-1.

Group ‘B’: Chinese Taipei bt DPR Korea 3-2; India bt Thailand 3-0; Thailand bt Bahrain 3-0; DPR Korea bt Bahrain 3-0.

Junior girls: Group ‘A’: DPR Korea bt Japan 3-1; Chinese Taipei bt Singapore 3-0; Singapore bt Sri Lanka 3-0; DPR Korea bt Sri Lanka 3-0.

Group ‘B’: Korea bt Thailand 3-0; Korea bt Kazakhstan 3-0; India bt Kazakhstan 3-0; Thailand bt India 3-1.

Cadet boys: Group ‘A’: China bt Iran 3-0; China bt Bahrain 3-0; Japan bt Hong Kong 3-2; Japan bt Bahrain 3-0; Hong Kong bt Thailand 3-0; Thailand bt Iran 3-2.

Group ‘B’: Korea bt India 3-0; Chinese Taipei bt Singapore 3-0; India bt Sri Lanka 3-2; Sri Lanka bt Singapore 3-2.

Cadet girls: Group ‘A’: China bt Hong Kong 3-2; Korea bt Singapore 3-0; Singapore bt Kazakhstan 3-0; Hong Kong bt Kazakhstan 3-0.

Group ‘B’: Chinese Taipei bt Thailand 3-2; Japan bt India 3-2; India bt Sri Lanka 3-0; Thailand bt Sri Lanka 3-0.