Indian Fed Cup team delivers Women's Day 'gift'

THE Indian women's tennis team created history on Saturday (7) by progressing to the Fed Cup World Group play-offs for the first time ever, with Ankita Raina leading the side to a 2-1 win over Indonesia at the Asia-Oceania Group 1 tournament held in Dubai.

Ankita pulled off a crucial singles win against talented Aldila Sutjiadi to lock the tie 1-1, after Rutuja Bhosale was beaten by Priska Madelyn Nugroho, ranked 15th on the ITF junior circuit.

Ankita, who lost her previous two singles, demolished Sutjiadi's challenge 6-3 6-3.

She then combined with seasoned Sania Mirza to beat Sutziyadi and Nugroho 7-6(4) 6-0 to seal India's place in the play-offs in April, when they will take on either Latvia or the Netherlands.

The duo overcame a sluggish start as they were trailing 1-4, but regrouped to dominate the decisive set.

India finished second in the six-team group with four wins in a row, after losing the opening tie to China, which remained unbeaten in the tournament.

Since earning their place back in Asia-Oceania Group I in 2016, India has remained in the regional group.

With the rise of Ankita, things began to improve.

“I had dreamt of this and believed but after the tie I couldn’t actually believe, I asked Rutuja twice if we actually qualified [for the World Group],” Ankita toId PTI from Dubai.

“I would say it’s a gift for all the Indian women from Team India on Women’s Day.

“It’s just great to be a part of something so special that’ll be recorded in history and it’s an honour to have a chance to do with Sania, especially after her pregnancy.”

These are the moments we work all our lives for ?? what an incredible team effort ... world group play offs here we come for the first time ever .. @FedCup pic.twitter.com/RXaNJKLecS

— Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) March 8, 2020

Sania's return to Fed Cup after four years also helped, as her inspirational presence and guidance helped the side immensely.

Rutuja also played a key role as she provided winning starts in a few ties, sharing the burden with Ankita.

“It is such an honour to play for the country. And for me it really means so much because I am coming off an injury and have struggled with it so much last year which restricted me to play good tennis," she said.

“It is a very good exposure for me as it will help me in the rest of the tour.”

India's non-playing captain Vishal Uppal is delighted with the result.

"It's a historic moment and to be part of it feels surreal. I am proud of each and every member of our team -- the players, physio, coach, manager. We all came together and worked towards a common goal," said Uppal.

"The key was to do the fundamentals well and keep it simple on court. As a team everyone stepped up one day or the other which is very important. I hope this win will give a big boost to women's tennis in India."