Davis Cup Asia Oceanic Group: SL gets demoted to Div. 4

By Shamseer Jaleel

After some brave tennis in the centre court, the Sri Lankan youngsters were edged out by hosts, Jordan after their handing off by the Syrians on the opening day at the Davis Cup Asia Oceanic Group III contest. 

With this outcome, all three third placed teams in each group were demoted to Division 4 in 2022.

Sri Lanka, after being handed off against Syria, played cohesive tennis to have some respectability when going down against Jordan 2-1 at the Davis Cup Asia Pacific Oceanic Group III event, which was worked off in Amman – Jordan Tennis Federation Courts recently. Sri Lanka, along with Kuwait and Qatar, were demoted to Division 4 in 2022.

Yasith de Silva, who was in sparkling form in this tournament, beat Seif Adas 6-4, 7-6. This was the only win for the islanders in their four single matches. They lost both doubles to Jordan and Syria. Chaturya Nilaweera took his game against Mousa Alkotop in to a three setter. Jordan’s Mousa took the first set 6-2, but Nilaweera fought back bravely to take the second set 6-3, but Mousa not only took the third set but also the game with a 7-5 win in the last set.

In the doubles game, Hamzeh Aswan and Mousa Alkotop beat Yasith de Silva and Thehan Wijemanne 7-6, 6-4.

Against the Syrians, Sri Lanka once again displayed fighting quality when Yasith forced the game in to a third setter, but lost out to Yacoub Makzoume 4-6, 6-2 and 7-6. This encounter was fought out for nearly three hours in the centre court. Thehan Wijemanne, the Royalist, too showed a lot of promise against the Syrian opponent. Though he lost in two sets, he was tied in the later set at four each, but lost out in the end.

Teams which were placed first and second from each group battled it out for the promotion, while the third-placed teams were demoted to Division 4 in 2022. Hong Kong, Vietnam, Oceanic, Malaysia, Jordan and Syria battled it out for the promotion, which saw strong Hong Kong, Vietnam and Oceania getting through to the next round in the Davis Cup. Meanwhile Kuwait, Qatar and Sri Lanka were demoted to Division 4 in 2022.

A lot of credit should be given to the youngsters who played sans Harshana Godamanne and Sharmal Dissanayake, who were not available for this tour. The Sri Lankan outfit had some shocking moments as the country was in ‘Red List’ for COVID-19. Due to this, the team had to quarantine in their hotel room for seven days after their arrival in Jordan. The rest of the teams had the luxury to train as soon as they arrived in Jordan. This put the Sri Lankans on the back foot before the tournament started as they had only one day for training. This was informed to the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) at the very last moment, and due to this, they were unable to book the flights early. 

National outfit consisted of players such as Yasith de Silva, Thehan Wijemanne, Chaturiya Nilaweera, Vibuda Wijebandara and skipper Renouk Wijemanne. Yasith won one of his singles, while Chaturiya pushed one of his games in to three rounds, and Thehan, though he lost in two sets, showed lots of promise, storming back in the second set to level four-a-piece after going down in a brave effort against Syria.

Sri Lankan Skipper Renouk Wijemanne speaking to Daily FT said: “Although, the result was not what we wanted, it was a great learning experience for the young Sri Lankan team. Given the lack of preparation we had just prior to the tournament with the lockdowns in Sri Lanka as well as the one week of quarantine in Jordan, which gave us just one day of practice on the match courts, the boys showed a lot of heart. They fought their guts out and gave a 100% effort.  In the end, we just needed one point to remain in Group III, but it was not meant to be.” 

Wijemanne also said: “Hats off to the Jordanian player who played a superb point when he was match point down. The team spirit among the players was great, everyone rooted for each other and supported each other to the very end.  It was an awakening for the young players who are learning to compete at the international men’s level. They are more determined now than before to work on the overall improvement of their games and this is a positive sign. Personally, I am very proud of them, and I am sure before long we will be back in Group III.”