Zeel Desai in action during the Billie Jean King Cup in New Delhi. (Image: DLTA) New Delhi: The Indian team was expected to have an easy game 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 has made changes with a focus on Saturday’s tie against South Korea.The action moved from the Central Court to Court 1; Zeel Desai took the court in the singles department alongside Sahaja Yamalapalli while Vaishnavi Adkar teamed up with Rutuja Bhosale in the doubles, giving Ankita Raina time off.
Watch
Billie Jean King Cup: Vaishnavi, Vishal Uppal react after India’s loss to IndonesiaThe result, as expected, was a triumphant 3-0 win, dropping only one game in three games. That was the case this week for the Mongolian team, which suffered 19 losses (0-6) and won only five games.“It was good to play Mongolia today, which gives us a little extra time to recover for tomorrow because it will be a tough battle tomorrow. It’s always against Korea,” said Rutuja, who is expected to continue working with Raina in the doubles on Saturday.“I think Vaish (Adkar) and Sahaja, I think we’re all ready. 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,” she continued.Uppal claimed that even if India did not advance 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 could definitely use the experience of beating a team like Korea. And from Ankita and Rutuja’s point of view, you know, it’s a big year. It’s (the) Asian Games year. And they’re probably going to play against a Korean team in the Asian Games. So playing them and beating them would be good,” he explained.Mathematically, India’s chances of qualifying for the playoffs for the second year in a row look slim even if they beat South Korea. Their fate rests in the hands of Indonesia and Thailand, who have both beaten India and have the edge if the teams end in a tie.
