Malaysia go down too tamely

EHRAN, IRAN: Syria and Kuwait, the two teams that have topped their respective Pools during the week have earned a victory apiece in the first day of the promotion play-off at the Enghelab Sport Complex in Tehran. In one of the two ties of the day, Syria defeated the hosts Iran in a much contested clash. The Syrians dropped their first rubber of the week and had to give their best in order to overcome the Iranian pressure. The decisive point was earned by Syria’s Marc Abdelnour in a hardly fought game in which he defeated Iran’s Shahin Khaledan 61 67(4) 62. Syria stands now in the second position of the play-off table with one more tie to play in the final day of the event on Sunday. In the other tie, Kuwait, the other unbeaten team during the week has earned yet another win against Malaysia 2-1. As it happened to Syria, the Kuwaitis dropped a rubber for the first time in the week. Despite the win in the doubles rubber, the Malysians never managed to take control of the tie as Kuwait started dominating both singles rubber from the very beginning. The scores 61 63 and 61 61 are a clear evidence of Kuwait’s superiority in this tie. However, the doubles rubber saw the exactly opposed scenario and the Malaysians achieved a comprehensive 62 61 win. Kuwait are now at the top of the play-off table tied with Syria in victories but with a better sets and games record. In the relegation play-off, Oman beat Kyrgyzstan 3-0 and are now at the top of the table to avoid relegation. In the other relegation play-off tie, Vietnam beat Bangladesh 2-1 and are now second in the table. Sunday will see the clash between the best two teams of this event Syria and Kuwait. RESULTS Kuwait 3 Malaysia 0 (Mohammad Ghareeb bt Assri Merzuki 6-1, 6-3; Abdullah Moqdas bt Ariez Deen Heshaam 6-1, 6-1; Mohammed Abdal-Naser Al Obaidly bt Syed Aqil Syed Naguib-Si Yew Ming 6-2, 6-1). * dumbfounding that the Davis Cup captain did not name a more-experienced Yew Ming for singles in this crucial tie.