Kyrgyzstan and Iran secured their spots in the second Asian Group Qualifying Tournament for the Billie Jean King Cup in the following year. This came after their victories over Qatar and Laos in the final matches of the third Asian Group Qualifying Tournament, hosted by the Bahrain Tennis Federation from October 18th to 21st.
The final day of the third Asian Group Qualifying Tournament concluded yesterday, featuring the two matches determining the teams’ promotion to the second group, as well as the placement matches.
The Kyrgyzstan team ended Qatar’s winning streak by defeating them 3-0 in the decisive match held yesterday. The Kyrgyz player, Vladislavia Badaeva, made a strong start for her team by defeating Qatar’s Khadija Qassama 6-0, 6-0 in the first singles match. Qatar’s player, Mubarakah Al-Naimi, tried to keep her team’s hopes alive and delay the outcome of the doubles match, but her Kyrgyz opponent had a different opinion. The Kyrgyz player won the match, securing her team’s victory and one of the qualifying spots for the second group with a score of 6-2, 6-4.
In the doubles match, the Kyrgyzstan team won with a score of 4-6, 6-3, and 7-6.
In the second match, Iran (Laos) joined the Kyrgyz team in the second Asian group next year after defeating Laos in the final match qualifying for the second group. The Iranian player, Nelli Ataf, easily won against her Laotian opponent, Phonepaseuth Bouttavong, with a score of 6-0, 6-0 in the first singles match. In contrast to the first singles match, the Iranian player, Yasaman Yazdani, struggled before achieving victory against the Laotian player, Malaylack Dalila, in the second singles match. The match ended in favor of the Iranian player with a score of 7-6, 6-7, and 7-6, granting her country the second ticket to the second Asian group next year.
In the closing ceremony of the tournament, the President of the Bahrain Tennis Federation, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, along with the General Secretary of the Federation, Mr. Fuad Al-Ruwaie, and the General Tournament Referee, Mr. Hani Al-Khafeef, distributed the commemorative medals to the Iranian and Kyrgyzstan teams.
In his closing speech, Sheikh Abdulaziz expressed his happiness with the success of the tournament, which the Kingdom of Bahrain hosted for the second consecutive time, praising the efforts of everyone who contributed to the success and distinction of the tournament. He also thanked all the participating teams for their outstanding performance and commended the professionalism of the participating teams and their cooperation with all the organizers and the refereeing staff during the matches, which had a great impact on this success.
Sheikh Abdulaziz affirmed that the Bahrain Tennis Federation will continue to work on hosting distinguished tournaments that make Bahrain the focus of attention for tennis enthusiasts at the continental and international levels. He expressed his happiness that these tournaments contribute to increasing the popularity of the game locally and expanding the base of its practitioners, which is one of the main goals of the Federation’s strategic plans for the coming years.
