Indian men on Sunday qualified for the quarterfinals of the Asian Online Nations (Regions) Cup Team Championship after finishing sixth in the Swiss system preliminary round.
The top-seeded Indians endured a day of mixed fortunes, winning one match, losing one and drawing the other. It faces Mongolia in the last eight stage on October 23.
Starting the day with a 1.5-2.5 loss at the hands of the Philippines in the seventh round, the team led by Surya Sekhar Ganguly bounced back to outclass Bangladesh 3.5-0.5 in round eight before settling for a thrilling 2-2 draw against Australia.
In the match against Australia, the 16-year-old Nihal Sarin provided the crucial win, beating Termur Kuybokarov after B Adhiban had lost to Anton Smirnov. S P Sethuraman and K Sasikiran drew their games.
In the eighth round, Adhiban, Ganguly and Sasikiran posted victories while Sethuraman was held to a draw by…
