Hong Kong Davis Cup team confident future is bright after youngsters win promotion
Victory over Lebanon in play-off secures return to Group II
Hong Kong tennis is hoping their young Davis Cup team have a bright future ahead after they won promotion back to Group II at the weekend.
With 29-year-old Karan Rastogi the oldest player, the rest of the team in Tehran for the Asia/Oceania play-off had an average age of 18: Kevin Wong Chun-hun the oldest at 20 and two 17-year-olds in Jack Wong Hong-kit and Jackie Tang,
Seeded fifth, Hong Kong trounced Pacific Oceania 3-0, lost narrowly to hosts Iran 2-1 then beat Turkmenistan by the same score to finish second in their pool and set up a promotion play-off with pool B winners Lebanon.
After the singles rubbers were split, Tang losing and Rastogi winning, Rastogi and Kevin Wong teamed up to take the deciding doubles and send Hong Kong back into Group II for the first time since 2014.
Team manager David Ho said: “The team trained very hard with a very positive attitude. We have some promising juniors coming up and they have helped us gain promotion.”
Rastogi, who has played Davis Cup for India and has been coaching at the HKTA since 2012, and captain Yu Hiu-tung provided vital experience and tournament know-how, and HKTA president Philp Mok is hoping the youngsters learned some valuable lessons.
”We are very happy and proud of our boys,” he said. “They weren’t used to the high altitude and clay courts, but they managed to tough it out.
“It is a very young team with room for improvement, and we look forward to seeing them compete in Group II next year.”
Hong Kong were beaten by Indonesia in a relegation play-off the last time they were in Group II, while they battled to Group I back in 1992.
