China is sending pair of Olympic Gold medallists and two of its three Top-100 players – Li Na and Zheng Jie – to battle the likes of (19)Australia, (32)Chinese Taipei, (36)India, (51)Kazakhstan, (34)Korea, (41)New Zealand, and (57)Singapore for the lone spot in the offing for July's World Group II Playoffs.* The 2005 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I round robin ties will begin Wednesday at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi, India, where some of Hong Kong's brightest juniors had just returned from their two-week endeavour at this year's ITF 14 & Under Asian Championships.
China has been drawn alongside India, Singapore, and Kazakhstan in Pool A, while Australia headlines a group of death featuring Korea, Chinese Taipei and New Zealand in Pool B – the nation to top either pool after the round robins will meet in an 'all-or-nothing' showdown for the coveted place in July's playoffs.
* Brackets denote Fed Cup rankings
News regarding the imminent withdrawal of Australia's top three players – Alicia Molik, Nicole Pratt and doubles specialist, Rennae Stubbs – from the Aussie line-up in New Delhi this week, not to mention serious doubts as to whether Sania Mirza's bum ankle would hold out for any action at all, has made China one of the favourites for the only playoff spot up for grabs.
Mirza became the first player from India to win a WTA Tour event earlier this year when ranked 131, she defeated No. 4 seed Zheng Jie, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, in the second round, No. 8 Maria Kirilenko, 6-4, 7-6(4), in the semis, and then No. 9 Alyona Bondarenko of Ukraine, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, in the final to win the Hyderabad Open 2005 in front of her hometown fans.
The 18-year-old Mirza was ranked 10th on the ITF Junior World Ranking two years ago.
On paper, China already boasts the strongest line-up among the eight competing nations in Delhi, with Li Na (WTA No. 41) and Zheng Jie (No. 69) ranked in the Top-70 in singles, while Olympic women's doubles gold medallists, Sun Tian-Tian and Li Ting, are ranked 52nd and 53rd in doubles respectively.
Moreover, Chinese Taipei has elected to send a young and very green team for the Fed Cup this year, with 18-year-old world No. 795, Chen Yi, heading three unranked players, 19-year-olds Chao Hsiao-Han and Wang Wen-Ting, plus 22-year-old Lu Yen-Hua, in a very difficult Pool B.
Home team India's challenge for a playoff spot hinges on whether world No. 73, Sania Mirza, can overcome her ankle problem. Without Mirza, the next-best ranked Indian woman is Rushmi Chakravarthi at No. 372.
There are no ranked players on the Kazakhstan team.
The Round Robins will be contested Wednesday through Friday, while the first place playoff with take place on Saturday.
The winner to emerge from New Delhi this week will join the four World Group II first round losers and the other three qualifying nations from the Zonal Competitions in Group I (two from Europe/Africa, one from the Americas) at the World Group II Playoffs in July.
Teams that place 3rd in each pool will play off against the team that finishes in 4th position in the other pool to determine which two teams are relegated to Asia/Oceania Group II in 2006. Teams that finish in positions in 2nd position in each pool will play off to determine positions 3 and 4.
The 61st ranked Malaysian team withdrew from the Group II round robins earlier.
There has been a change in format of play starting with this year's Fed Cup whereby all World Group ties will follow a home-and-away system along the lines of the Davis Cup.
In World Groups I and II, each tie is contested in a best of five-match format over a two-day period. Two singles matches will take place on opening day, with the reverse singles matches taking place the following day, and then concluding with the doubles to round of the tie.
In Zonal Groups I, II and III, ties are played over best-of-three matches (two singles and a doubles).
Meanwhile, the Asia/Oceania Zone Group II matches will also take place at the DLTA Complex where Philippines, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan will battle for two promotion spots to Group I for next year.
All four teams will be drawn into a round robin pool of four teams, with the top two teams gaining automatic promotion, while the third and fourth placed teams will remain in the 2006 Asia/Oceania Zone Group II.
Kyrgyzstan earlier withdrew from the Group II round robins.
Last year's Asia/Oceania Zone Groups I and II round robins saw Kazakhstan and Singapore qualify for promotion to Group I, while Uzbekistan and Philippines finished bottom of their respective pools and were relegated to Group II for 2005.
Official Nominations for 2005Asia/Oceania Zone Group I:
Australia
Samantha Stosur
Sophie Ferguson
Evie Dominikovic
Bryanne Stewart
Captain: John Alexander
People's Republic of China
Li Na
Zheng Jie
Sun Tian-Tian
Li Ting
Captain: Jiang Hong-Wei
Chinese Taipei
Chen Yi
Chao Hsiao-Han
Lu Yen-Hua
Wang Ting-Wen
Captain: Miss Weng Tzu-Ting Weng
India
Sania Mirza
Shikha Uberoi
Rushmi Chakravarthi
Ankita Bhambri
Captain: Enrico Piperno
Kazakhstan
Mariya Kovaleva
Tatyana Ignatchenko
Ekaterina Morozova
Captain: Valeriy Kovalyov
Korea
Cho Yoon-Jeong
Kim Jin-Hee
Chang Kyung-Mi
Kim Mi-Ok
Captain: Lee Jin Soo
New Zealand
Marina Erakovic
Leanne Baker
Paula Marama
Eden Marama
Captain: Miss Pavlina Nola
Singapore
Lee Wei Ping
Cassandra Ng
Ong Shao Fang
Captain: Alex Chew
Facts & Figures: International Tennis Federation