India have tough competition on their hands in the final qualifying of the Asia/Oceania group of the Junior Davis Cup. In the 16-country field, to be played at the DLTA from Monday, India have been clubbed in Group D with fourth seeds Chinese Taipei, sixth seeds China and Sri Lanka.
India must overcome the fourth-seeded team in their first round robin match to put themselves in contention for the quarterfinals.
"It will be a tough tie," said India captain Vishal Uppal. "Chinese Taipei are a good team and if we can beat them, our chances will brighten for the quarterfinals. I will nominate my players tomorrow (Monday) morning so don't want to reveal my cards. I hope home support gives my boys an advantage."
Shaik Abdullah, Fatehdeep Singh and Garvit Batra comprise the under-16 India team.
"I'm not thinking about China and Sri Lanka now and will be taking one team at a time. We hope to put our best foot forward," Uppal added.
"Our main aim is to execute our plans well. For under-16 players, it all boils down to how well they execute plans on that particular day. But, I hope we can do well to qualify for the World Group."
Japan have been given the top billing in this meet, followed by Australia and Uzbekistan. In the week-long competition, the 16 teams have been divided into four groups and the top two from each group will qualify for the knockout stages.
{{/usCountry}}Japan have been given the top billing in this meet, followed by Australia and Uzbekistan. In the week-long competition, the 16 teams have been divided into four groups and the top two from each group will qualify for the knockout stages.
{{/usCountry}}Last year, having been placed fourth in the Asia/Oceania group stage, India had finished 13th in the World Group.
The World Group will be held in September in Mexico.