At the Asian 14 Under Championships 2008 – Bahrain, Kelvin Lam was halted in the quarterfinals in both boys' singles and doubles, while Vivian Lin took second-seeded Megha Sehrawat of India to a deciding set before exiting, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2, in round two of the girls' singles.

Tournament Website: www.BahrainTennis.com.

Seeded eighth for the boys' singles, Kelvin Lam managed to beat No. 9 seed Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul of Thailand in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6(5), in the third round before bowing out to top seed and eventual runner-up, Amer Naow of Syria, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3, in the ensuing quarterfinals.

Amer Naow is currently the No. 1-ranked player on the Asian 14U Series Overall Rankings List, while Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul is ranked 15th.

NTS Coach, Ross Elliott, reports from the Middle East: "Great performance against a big hitting opponent like Wishaya, who I believe is the top 13-year-old in Thailand. But in the quarterfinals, the top seed managed to stay very focused and consistent even after losing the first set, and rarely gave away any unforced errors. Kelvin, unfortunately, also started to cramp towards the latter stages of the match, which complicated matters further."

It must noted, however, that Amer Naow has played, and subsequently picked up points, in 8 events, while Kelvin Lam has only contested 2 out of a possible 22 events offered on the Asian 14U Series.

In the boys' doubles, Kelvin Lam and Amer Naow of Syria, the No. 2 seeds, lost a closely-fought quarterfinal match against fifth-seeded Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul of Thailand and Nguyen Hoang Thien of Vietnam, 6-3, 1-6, [10-7].

Trongcharoenchaikul and Nguyen then went on to reach the final before they fell to No. 1 seeds Mohd Assri Merzuki and Syed Agil Syed Naguib of Malaysia in three sets, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.

Asian 14U Series Overall Boys' Ranking (20 Oct 2008)

Asian 14U Series Overall Girls' Ranking (20 Oct 2008)

In the girls' singles, Vivian Lin got past 45th ranked Hadeel Ali of Brunei in the opening round, 6-2, 6-0, before she was ousted by No. 2 seed and 9th-ranked Megha Sehrawat of India, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2.

NTS Coach, Ross Elliott, reports from Bahrain: "Vivian had chances to go 5-2 up in first set but didn't take them and ended up conceding the set, 7-5. In the second, she came out very positive and put the pressure on Megha with some great attacking play to win it, 6-2. However, in the third, Megha focused well and started to hit winners from all over the court and ran away with it, 6-2.

As it turned out, number six seed Nguyen Hoang Thien (ITF 939) beat top seed Amer Naow to win the boys' singles, while Rongrong Leenabanchong (ITF 1115) of Thailand came out of nowhere to beat four seeded players in a row from the second round onwards to capture the girls' singles title.

The respective winners of the boys' and girls' singles in Bahrain last week were automatically accorded a place on the Asian team that will embark on a tour Down Under prior to the 2009 Australian Open.

At the conclusion of last year's Asian U/14 Series sponsored by the Australian Open, the top 8-ranked boys & girls were selected to go to Australia accompanied with the team's coach Mr. Arun Kumar to play the ATF 14/U Series Masters Finals. It was held in Melbourne, Australia from January 11-13, 2008. Jung Ki-Su (KOR) and Prathanana Thombare (IND) were crowned the Asian U/14 champions in Boys' & Girls' categories respectively.

Incidentally, 13-year-old Nguyen Hoang Thien, who currently ranks 8th on the Asian 14U Series, had just made a winning debut on the ITF World Junior Circuit when he captured the Grade 5 Vietnam International Jr Championships Becamex Cup 2008 last week.

Related Story: A Million USD For Tennis (VietNamNet Bridge, 19 Aug 2007)

For more on Asian junior tennis, visit the Official Website of the Asian 14U Series: http://asianunder14.com.

Results
Asian 14 Under Championships
BTF Tennis Center, University of Bahrain
October 19-25, 2008

BOYS' SINGLES

Second Round
(8)Kelvin Lam (HKG) d. Venkat Ajith Pandya Chinnam (IND) 6-0 6-1

Third Round
(8)Kelvin Lam (HKG) d. (9)Wishaya Trongcharoenchaiku (THA) 6-1 7-6(5)

Quarterfinals
(1)Amer Naow (SYR) d. (8)Kelvin Lam (HKG) 6-7(4) 6-4 6-3

GIRLS' SINGLES

First Round
Vivian Lin (HKG) d. Hadeel Ali (BRN) 6-2 6-0

Second Round
(2)Megha Sehrawat (IND) d. Vivian Lin (HKG) 7-5 2-6 6-2

BOYS' DOUBLES

Second Round
(2)Kelvin Lam/Amer Naow (HKG/SYR) d. Vishal Passi/Anudeep Boddu Bhaskar (IND) 6-1 6-1

Quarterfinals
(5)Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul/Nguyen Hoang Thien (THA/VIE) d. (2)Kelvin Lam/Amer Naow (HKG/SYR) 6-3 1-6 [10-7]

GIRLS' DOUBLES

Second Round
Mrinalini Alla/ Urmila Gunuganti (USA/IND) d. (4)Vivian Lin/Megha Sehrawat (HKG/IND) 7-5 6-3