Hong Kong were assured a place in the top four of the Asia/Oceania zone, group three contest after registering a hard-fought 3-0 victory over Malaysia at Victoria Park last night.
Having won their opening match against Saudi Arabia, also 3-0 the previous day, the SAR team are likely to finish top of pool A as they meet Tajikistan in their final group match today. The former Soviet Union state last night lost their second match in a row, 2-1 to Saudi Arabia.
In pool B, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are likely to join Hong Kong in the top four after their respective 3-0 victories over Bahrain and Qatar last night. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the next stage where another round robin will be played to decide the two promotion places to group two.
Despite the 3-0 scoreline, Hong Kong were hard-pressed last night, with both singles going to three sets. The tie lasted more than six hours.
Wayne Wong drew first blood for Hong Kong with a 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4 win over Malaysia's Selvam Veerasingam. Yu Hiu-tung followed up with a 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5 win over Si Yew Ming to hand Hong Kong an unassailable 2-0 advantage.
Brian Hung and Martin Sayer wrapped up the dead doubles rubber with a straight-sets victory.