Pune: Jensi Kanabar will hold the key to India’s fortunes in their Junior Billie Jean King Cup (Under-16) Asia-Oceania Final Qualifying team tennis event starting in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, on Monday.India take on Maldives in their Group 3 round-robin opener with matches against Indonesia and China to follow on Tuesday and Wednesday before the knockouts, culminating in the final on Saturday.The event features 16 teams divided into four groups. The best two teams from each will advance to the quarterfinals. The top four teams will progress to the World Finals to be played later in the year.Aaradhya Meena and Anandita Upadhyay are the other two players in the Indian team led by Namita Bal.Team nominations will be filed 45 minutes before the matches each day. The No. 2 ranked players from either teams will play the first singles, followed the No. 1 players taking on each other, and subsequently the doubles.Namita sounded confident of the team’s prospects, although she acknowledged doubles will hold the key.“Japan, Korea and Australia are very strong teams. China and Chinese Taipei can also be difficult opponents. Doubles could prove decisive,” she said.The team reached the venue on Thursday in order to get acclimatized to the conditions, “which is new”, the captain said.“The preparation has been great. Usually we would have a camp (back home) and come to the venue. This time we came in early to play on red clay. The girls have never played on the slow surface,” Namita said.“I have been talking to them about a few things to work on after the team selection. It was more about tactically training them, how to build a point, being a bit more patient on this surface.“From Day 1 to Day 3, they have learnt in a short time.”While they were welcomed by hot weather, it rained on Sunday to bring the temperature down to 14 degrees Celsius. But the forecast for the week is windy and bright sunshine with the mercury steadily climbing through the week.
