Asia-Oceania Group IV Tennis Sri Lanka outclasses Kyrgyzstan, confront Iraq tomorrow

Yasitha de Silva in action

By M. Shamil Amit

Sri Lanka outclassed Kyrgyzstan by three sets to nil in the final Group ‘A’ round robin match of Asia-Oceania Group IV tennis tournament played at the SLTA clay courts in Greenpath, Colombo yesterday.

The Sri Lankan players comprising of Yasitha de Silva, Harshana Godamanna, Chathurya Nilaweera and Thehan Wijemanne who defeated Bangladesh with the same winning margin made a repeat with Yasitha and Harshana winning the singles with ease and the doubles pair Nilaweera and Wijemanne achieving the same with winning margins of two sets to nil.

Meanwhile in the Group ‘B’ segment Iraq came out on top against Yemen by two sets to one, they underwent some anxious moments before coming out winners with an easy win in the doubles event. In another match that was played this was of academic interest saw Brunei overcome Maldives who ended the tournament with a winless record.

The win will see host Sri Lanka battling it out with Iraq the top team in Group ‘B’ in the deciding match for promotion to the Asia-Oceania Group III which is scheduled to be played tomorrow (13) from 10.00 a.m. onwards.

Results:

Sri Lanka beat Kyrgyzstan 3-0
Singles – Yasitha de Silva (Sri Lanka) beat Ilgis Kamchibekok (Kyrgyzstan) 2-0 (7/6(5), 6/0). Harshana Godmanna (Sri Lanka) beat Mirghaz Mirdzhaliev (Kyrgyzstan) 2-0 (64, 6/2)
Doubles – Chathurya Nilaweera/Thehan Wijemanne (Sri Lanka) beat Evgeniy Babok/ Mirghaz Mirdzhaliev (Kyrgyzstan) 2-0 (6/4, 6/2)
Iraq beat Yemen 2-1
Singles – Abdullah Ali Hatem (Iraq) beat Alhassan Ishaq (Yemen) 2-0 (6/1. 6/0),  Ghassan Alansi (Yemen) beat Adel Mustafa Al-Saedi (Iraq) 2-1 (4/6, 6/1, 6/1)
Doubles – Mohammad Al-Shammari/Abdullah Ali Hatem (Iraq) beat Ghassan Alansi/Halil Sallam (Yemen) 2-0 (7/5, 6/4)
Brunei beat Maldives 2-1
Singles – Billie-Lee Loong Wong (Brunei) beat Aiham Shiyam (Maldives) 2-0 (6/1, 5/1), Abdulla Faaih Fazeel (Maldives) beat Aiman Abdullah (Brunei) 2-1 (6/1, 2/6, 6/1)
Doubles - Billie-Lee Loong Wong/ Aiman Abdullah (Brunei) beat Abdullah Faaih Fazeel/Hussain Naseef (Maldives) 2-0 (6/0, 6/4)