New Delhi: The Indian team was expected to have an easy time against Mongolia in the Billie Jean King Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1 tie in New Delhi on Friday and it proved to be the case. Non-playing captain Vishal Uppal made the changes, focusing firmly on the tie against South Korea on Saturday.Action moved from Center Court to Court 1. Zail Desai took the court in the singles department with Sahaja Yamlapalli while Vaishnavi Adkar allowed Rutoja Bhosle to partner in the doubles. Ankita Raina Time off
The result, as expected, was a triumphant 3-0 win with only one game dropped in all three matches. That’s been the case for Mongolia this week, with 19 losses (0-6) and just five wins.“It was good to play Mongolia today, which gives us a little extra time to recover for tomorrow because tomorrow is going to be a tough battle. It always is against Korea,” said Rutoja, who is expected to team up with Raina in the doubles on Saturday.“I think wesh [Adkar] And sahja, I mean, we’re all set. We know what to expect. And yes, I think it’s going to be a good day and a challenging day, and I think we’re ready for it,” he continued.Appel maintained that even if India do not progress to the next round of the competition, a win against Korea would be a huge boost for the young team.“There are some young players in this team who can definitely use the experience to beat a team like Korea. And from Ankita and Rutoja’s point of view, you know, it’s a big year. It’s (an) Asian Games year. And they’ll probably go up against a Korean team in the Asian Games. So it will be good to play and beat them,” he explained.Mathematically, India’s chances of qualifying for the playoffs for the second consecutive year look slim, even if they beat South Korea. Their fate rests in the hands of Indonesia and Thailand, both of whom have beaten India and have the head-to-head advantage if the teams end in a draw.
