Batra, Rajasekhar in main draw of world junior TT

Batra had an easy outing against Yousra Helmy of Egypt, winning her match 14-12 11-5 12-10 11-4 and the Indian got a walkover from Lucia Truksova of Slovakia to move into the main draw.

Arjun Ghosh and Rohit Rajasekhar brought broad smiles and a lot of cheers on an otherwise lengthy and dreary day at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium with their courageous performances.

Taking advantage of their fifth and six entries as hosts, they made most of the opportunity that was provided to them.

Making their maiden appearances on the international scene, Ghosh and Rajasekhar delighted the home supporters, surprising their experienced opponents. What was striking about them was the way the duo displayed their skillful feat, toppling the more experienced Czechs.

In fact, the Czech paddlers may not have anticipated something of this sort. Ghosh downed Michal Benes 15-13 11-6 11-8 4-11 16-14 to keep the Indian interest alive but what brought down the roof was Rohit's class act.

The match against Jakub Seibert kept the spectators glued to their seats as Rohit won by the thinnest of margins. Down 1-3, Rohit staged an excellent recovery to stun his opponent 4-11 11-6 8-11 10-12 11-9 14-12 11-9.

The other qualifiers among boys are Chiu Chung Hei (Hkg), Choi Deo Khwa (Kor), Jang Woo Jin (Kor), Xu Chenhao (Chn), Jakub Dyjas (Pol), Leonardu Mutti (Ita), Frederik Jost (Ger), Konrad Kulpa (Pol), David Reitspies (Cze), Clerence Chew Zhe Yu (Sin), Tamas Lakatos (Hun), Kim Min Hyeok (Kor), Marc Rode (Ger), Hung Ka Tak (Hkg), Lim Jong Hoon (Kor), Liao Cheng-Ting (Tpe), Ondrej Bajger (Cze), Luka Fucec (Cro), Omar Bedair (Egy) and Adam Szudi (Hun). More