Bahrain lose to Laos in Billie Jean King Cup tennis

TDT | Manama                                       

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain lost yesterday their second successive matchup in the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group III, currently being hosted by the Bahrain Tennis Federation (BTF) at their hard courts in Isa Town.

The Kingdom’s women’s national team bowed to their counterparts from Laos 0-3 for another defeat in Group D. In the opening singles contest, Bahrain’s Hajar Zaidan put in a hard fight against Phonephathep Philavong in a narrow 3-6, 4-6 defeat.

That was followed by Salma Faragallah losing to Malaylack Delilah Pathummakuronen 0-6, 0-6. Laos then completed the sweep with Thirada Phommachack and Phonesamai Champamanivong defeating Haneen Al Najjar and Salma 6-2, 6-1.

With the result, Bahrain bowed out of contention for a promotional berth to Group II in next year’s competition. Yesterday’s loss followed Bahrain’s opening-day defeat to the Maldives on Wednesday. They play one last match-up today in their division against Macau.

Group A features Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq; Group B includes Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan and Bhutan; and Group C is composed of Tajikistan, Brunei, Qatar and Nepal. Following a single round-robin, the top team from each group will advance to the next stage.

There, they will play for two qualifying cards for Group II in next year’s competition, while the remaining sides will compete for their best final classification. The Billie Jean King Cup is a leading global tournament between national teams in women’s tennis. The competition in the Kingdom is a zonal event, with teams playing for promotion to the higher-tier group.