MALAYSIA, June 16 (ePRESS) – Sri Lanka secured a convincing 2-1 victory over Laos in their Billie Jean King Cup Asia/Oceania Group II tie at the National Tennis Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Akeesha Silva and Dinara de Silva won their singles matches to seal the contest before Laos claimed the doubles encounter.
Akeesha Silva gave Sri Lanka the perfect start when she defeated Aliya Vongdala of Laos 7-6, 6-3 in a hard-fought opening singles match.
Dinara de Silva then ensured victory for Sri Lanka with a commanding performance in the second singles, beating Malaylack Delilah 6-1, 6-3.
With the tie already decided, Laos pulled one point back in the doubles. Siana MacDonald and Malaylack Delilah edged out Sri Lanka’s Annaya Norbet and Yuhansa Peiris in a closely contested match, winning 7-6, 7-5.
The victory was Sri Lanka’s first win of the campaign after they suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Uzbekistan on Monday.
In that tie, Dinara de Silva went down to Sevil Yuldasheva 1-6, 3-6, while Yuhansa Peiris lost by the same scoreline to Nigina Alimova in the singles matches.
Sri Lanka’s only point against Uzbekistan came in the doubles, where Akeesha Silva and Annaya Norbet produced a spirited display to beat Keira Kim and Fotima Mahmudova 6-3, 5-7, 10-8.
The win over Laos keeps Sri Lanka’s hopes alive as they continue their campaign in the Asia/Oceania Group II competition in Kuala Lumpur.
