India off to a good start winning all their matches in straight games against debutants Bermuda on the first day of the 21st World men’s team championship here on Thursday.
After Delhi’s Gaurav Nandrajog defeated Rober Maycock 11-3, 11-0, 11-8 in 25 minutes, Saurav Ghosal world ranked 48 and India’s number one player, swept past Chase Toogood 11-3, 11-5, 11-4 to give Indians a 2-0 lead.
With hosts in total control, the team management decided to give rest to Ritwik Bhattacharya and opted for Siddarth Suchde, who took just 13 minutes to get past Mel Cairnes 11-1, 11-2, 11-5.
India plays Pakistan on the morrow and will take on Kenya on Saturday. The highlight of the first day was Finland’s Olli Tuominen stretching world number one Amr Shabana of Egypt in the first two games before finally losing at 10-11 (1-3), 10-11 (3-5), 11-5, 9-11. However, Karim Darwish and Mohamed Abbas then won their respective matches to record a 3-0 win over Finland.
Results: Men’s: Team event:
Group A: Egypt bt Finland 3-0; Germany bt Russia 3-0. Group B: Hong Kong bt Spain 3-0. Group:C USA bt Venezuela 3-0; France bt Japan 3-0. Group D: New Zealand bt Scotland 3-0. Group E: Malaysia bt Kuwait 3-0; South Africa bt Sri Lanka 3-0. Group F: Ireland bt Austria 3-0.
Group G: India bt Bermuda 3-0 (Gaurav Nandrajog bt Rober Maycock 11-3, 11-0, 11-8; Saurav Ghosal bt Chase Toogood 11-3, 11-5, 11-4; Siddarth Suchde bt Mel Cairnes 11-1, 11-2, 11-5).
Group H: Wales bt Sweden 3-0; Netherlands bt Chinese Taipei 3-0.
