- Saturday, April 20, 2024
By: Eastern Eye Staff
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.”
