Indian paddlers go through the motions

New Delhi - The Indian teams did not have any resistance from any quarter as their boys and girls in the junior and cadet sections went through the motions on the opening day of the South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here today.

The cadet and junior boys events, which are conducted in two stages, saw the Indians taking their respective top slots to move into Stage II. As for the girls, particularly in the junior section, they kept a clean slate, winning both their matches against Nepal and Bangladesh, beating them with identical 3-0 margins.

They have a match against Sri Lanka, who too have four points from two wins and their match Sunday with the hosts will decide the group topper. For the Indians, it should be a cakewalk.

Interestingly, both India and Sri Lanka have a 3-0 win each against Nepal and with just three teams competing in the cadet girls section, India will have to beat Sri Lanka to complete a formality.

The results in the cadet and junior boys sections were no different. The Indians, part of Group A, defeated Pakistan and Bhutan 3-0 to occupy the top position. Similarly, in cadet Section, India routed Bangladesh and Pakistan by the same margin.

Sri Lanka, who are proving to be the second best team from the region, have kept their date with destiny beating the smaller nations that are struggling to find their feet in the discipline.

Results:

Cadet Boys: Group A: India bt Bangladesh 3-0, India bt Pakistan 3-0; Bangladesh bt Pakistan 3-0; Group B: Sri Lanka bt Bhutan 3-0, Sri Lanka bt Nepal 3-0.

Cadet Girls: India bt Nepal 3-0, Sri Lanka bt Nepal 3-0.

Junior Boys: India bt Pakistan 3-0, Pakistan bt Bhutan 3-1, India bt Bhutan 3-0; Group B: Sri Lanka bt Nepal 3-0, Bangladesh bt Nepal 3-1, Sri Lanka bt Bangladesh 3-0.

Junior Girls: India bt Nepal 3-0, Sri Lanka bt Nepal 3-0, India bt Bangladesh 3-0, Sri Lanka bt Bangladesh 3-0.