Apollo Perelini’s young charges beat Thailand 10-5 to kick off proceedings in Pool B in Johor on Malaysia’s south coast.

They suffered a set back in their second match as they were trounced by Asian heavyweights Japan, suffering a 38-0 defeat.

However, the UAE bounced back in style in their final game of the day, earning a 21-5 victory over the Philippines.

That will set up the youngsters nicely for tomorrow’s final pool match against Sri Lanka. Win that and the UAE will be guaranteed a place in the upper tier Cup knockout stages, which will put the UAE in a superior position to earn a top six finish overall from the two legs of the series.

The second will be played in Hong Kong later in the year.