Today, round two, we saw the battle of India with India B taking on India A and the seniors showed who was boss with a convincing 3.5-0.5 victory, only giving up only one draw when P Harikrishna allowed a repetition by young B Adhiban in an unclear position, and in doing so bringing their title challenge right back on track.
But perhaps the most intriguing match up this round was the encounter between the two other fancied teams and the expected threats to India's favourite tag, Vietnam and Iran, and in the end honours were shared 2-2.
Probably the hardest fought match was expected to be Bangladesh-Indonesia as that result might just determine the top place amongst those outside of the medals but it was surprisingly easy for Indonesia in the end as they romped home 3.5-0.5 and so announced they were serious medal contenders.
Of the less fancied teams, Nepal was no match for Singapore, losing 0-4 while Yemen against Sri Lanka was the identical 4-0 score.
Standings:
1-2. India A, Indonesia 4 pts; 3-4 Vietnam, Iran 3 pts; 5-6. India B, Singapore 2 pts; 7-8. Yemen, Sr Lanka 1 pt; 9-10. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka 0 pt.
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Iran's reward for its 4-0 win over Sri Lanka was an early match up with India A, probably a good time as the top seeds are still finding its best form. At the same time, Indian B had the chance to do damage to the other favourite Vietnam.
Both these matches progressed slowly, and in the end India A won 3-1 over Iran, again on the back of captain Harika Dronavalli's early win and then a late contribution by veteran Tania Sachdev (see photo above), but India B found Vietnam simply too strong and went down 1-3.
Nepal played the first round's surprise team Singapore and was trounced 0-4, and it was the same with Indonesia which was looking for and won big against Sri Lanka, 4-0, while Bangladesh got the dreaded bye and 2-0 result.
Standings:
1-2. India A, Vietnam 4 pts; 3. Singapore 3 pts; 4-5. Iran, Indonesia 2 pts, 6-8. India B, Bangladesh, Nepal 1 pt; 9. Sri Lanka 0 pt.
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