Prinkle Singh was the only player to manage a win as India lost the Play-off match 1-2 against New Zealand to finish fourth in the Asia/Oceania Group of the ITF World Junior Tennis championship, here today.
Taking the field first, Prinkle won the opening singles 3-6 6-3 6-1 against Holly Stewart in one hour and 30 minutes to put India ahead.
Shivani Amineni put up a brave fight in the next singles match between the two number one players but lost 6-4 6-7(4) 5-7 to Valentina Ivanov.
The doubles became decisive but the pair of Shivani and Mahak Jain lost 4-6 2-6 to the combo of Holly and Valentina.
"Our players put up a good fight. Both Prinkle and Shivani were terrific in their efforts. We played good close matches and I am sure after more preparation we will be able to do well in the World Group," India coach Nar Singh said.
India by the virtue of their quarter-final appearance qualified for the elite World Group competition, to be held in Czech Republic in August.
