Sharath withdraws, Soumyadeep spearheads team

An old photo of the Indian Women's team. Note that Mouma and Poulomi are not in this tournament. Kamlesh Mehta is accompanying the team as Coach in the absense of a foreign coach

In the absense of Sharath Kamal, who had to withdraw from the Chile Open due to an illness, Soumyadeep leads the team, which starts its main matches today. Sanil faces a tough customer in Mancini.

The Indian women and men face South American challenge in the first round with many of them facing players from Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. A few of them should be able to make it to the pre quarterfinals, where the competition gets tougher.