Good start for hosts

Four Bangladeshi players moved into the second round of boys' singles in the 31st Bangladesh International Junior Tennis Championship on the opening day of the competition at the National Tennis Complex in Ramna yesterday.

Swadhin Hossain beat Indian counterpart Shreejit Sen 2-6, 7-6, 7-5; Faruk Hossain outplayed Singapore's Timothy Lim 7-6, 6-4; Jewel Rana came from behind to beat Malaysia's Soon Keat Chan in 2-1 sets while Omar Zubin beat Boer Jeroen of Netherlands 2-6, 6-1, 6-3.

However, Saiful Alam, Kawser Ali, Mohammad Emon, Mohammad Istiak, Arnab Saha, Rakib Hossain, Azizul Hakim, Mehedi Hasan, Mohammad Zahid and Faridur Reza suffered defeats in the first round.

In the girls' singles, Fabiha Lamisha, Sraboni Biswas, Raina Lal, Susmita Sen and Sravasti Dev advanced to the second round after getting byes in their respective first round matches.

Shah Shafina Laxmi, the only Bangladeshi girl who played in the first round, lost to India's Rupkotha Mukharjee by 6-2, 6-1.