India in quarter-finals of
Jr Davis Cup qualifier

India beat New Zealand to register their third straight victory and enter for the quarter-finals in the Asia-Oceania qualifiers for the Junior Davis Cup tennis tournament, at the National Tennis Centre, in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur, on Thursday.

Seeded third in the tournament, India won 2-1 and secured the top spot in Group 3.

Earlier on Wednesday, the team had beaten Hong Kong 3-0 in their second match.

India No 2 Tushar Liberhan started badly, losing 4-6, 6-3, 4-6 to Rubin Statham, but Karan Rastogi, the India No 1, brought India on level terms after winning a tough match against Kiwi's number one Rade Radinovich 7-6(1), 6-2..

Tied at one-all after the singles, Rastogi then teamed up with Liberhan and got the better of Statham and James Pilbro in the doubles to seal 6-1, 6-4 victory for India.

India finished the pool matches with a 7-2 record. They will face China in the quarters.

In the other Group 3 match, Uzbekistan defeated Hong Kong 2-1 to also qualify for the quarter-finals.

In Group One, Australia beat Malaysia 3-0 while China defeated Pakistan 3-0. Australia and China qualified for the quarters.

In Group Two, South Korea blanked The Philippines 3-0 while Sri Lanka defeated Iran 3-0. Korea and Sri Lanka qualified for the last eight.

In Group 4, Japan defeated Indonesia 2-1, Thailand beat Syria 2-1, while Chinese Taipei blanked Syria 3-0. Japan and Indonesia qualified for the next round.

Four out of the 17 competing teams will advance to the finals, to be held in France in September.

Yesterday's report
India score second win in Jr Davis Cup qualifier