Ajay makes it to junior Indian Davis Cup team

New Delhi (PTI): Ajay Malik, who rose from the mud courts of Haryana village Gohana, has made it to the Indian junior Davis Cup team for the upcoming Asia/Oceania final qualifying matches in Thailand.

Ajay, who had won the Under-14 national title at Fenesta Open in October 2016, has been selected to represent India along with Divesh Gahlot and Sushant Dabas, who are ranked higher than him.

Udit Gogoi is the reserve member of the side.

The selectors have gone by national rankings in Under-16 category while picking the squad.

The selection panel, led by Anil Dhupar, also picked the girls squad which has three playing members in Bhakti Shah, Sudipta Senthil Kumar and Sanjana Sirimala.

Gargi Pawar is the reserve member of the side. Both junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup were to be played at DLTA in New Delhi but the tournaments have been moved to Bangkok, Thailand due to the uncertainty caused by the diplomatic tension between India and Pakistan.

The Davis Cup is scheduled to be held from April 8-13 while Fed Cup is scheduled for April 15-20. To reach the Finals, every nation with the exception of the host nation, must win through regional qualifying.

A total of 16 boys' and girls' teams are drawn into four round-robin groups before the top teams in each group progress to the semi-finals where a knock-out competition decides the champions.