Hong Kong outclass Pakistan in Fed Cup

Coach remains hopeful of progress despite loss.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s campaign at the Fed Cup Asia-Oceania Group II suffered a setback after a 3-0 loss against Hong Kong in Shenzhen, China yesterday.

The Pool A clash started off with Hong Kong’s Wing-Yau Venise Chan defeating top-ranked Pakistani Ushna Suhail 6-1, 6-2 before Ling Zhang outclassed Saba Aziz 6-0, 6-0 in the second match. The doubles encounter saw another convincing win for Hong Kong as Ling combined with Zi-Jun Yang to thrash Suhail and Sara Mansoor 6-1, 6-1 in less than 40 minutes.

Earlier, Pakistan’s campaign at the event had got off to a disappointing start when they lost 3-1 to Kyrgyzstan. However, the team bounced back to defeat Singapore 2-1, which was Pakistan’s first victory against them in four Fed Cup meetings.

‘Every step is important’

Pakistan need to win at least two of their group matches to still have a chance to qualify for the second round and their coach and captain Mohammad Khalid believed the team had a good opportunity of advancing.

“We’re improving and are hoping for the best,” Khalid told The Express Tribune. “Other countries are featuring seeded players while we only have Suhail who has international exposure. This is the first time Mansoor and Aziz are playing in the event.

“At this stage it’s more important for our players to gain experience and exposure and they’ll only get that if we participate regularly in the Fed Cup. Every step is important no matter how small it is.”

Khalid hoped that Pakistan would be able to defeat Sri Lanka in their next tie, which will be played tomorrow.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2^nd, 2012.