New Delhi, India captain Vishal Uppal lamented “three hours of bad tennis” on the opening day as the decisive factor behind the team missing out on qualification for World Group Play-offs as the hosts signed off with a third-place finish in Asia/Oceania Group I of the Billie Jean King Cup, here.
India will stay in Group I as the top two teams Thailand and Indonesia sealed qualification.
Reflecting on a week of fluctuating fortunes, Uppal said the slow start against Thailand proved costly in a tightly-contested competition.
“The high is obviously that we beat Korea. The low is the fact that we played three hours of bad tennis at the start of the week, which has cost us. Otherwise, we would have had that medal today,”Uppal said after India defeated South Korea 2-1 in their final tie on Saturday.
India had entered the tournament with qualification hopes but fell short after early setbacks, particularly against Thailand, a result Uppal said continues to hurt.
“It’s not hindsight. It’s hurting right now. Going into the competition, we knew we had to beat Thailand and Korea to qualify. Just two-three hours of bad tennis on day one and it’s a different story,” he added.
Vaishnavi Adkar had lost the opening singles and later Sahaja Yamlapalli suffered defeat in the rain-hit second singles as India suffered an unexpected loss to Thailand.
Eventually, Thailand finished on top of the table ahead of Indonesia in an even more surprising result at the end of the tournament.
Uppal described the campaign as a “week of missed chances”, pointing to narrow defeats against Indonesia and Thailand where India were in contention but failed to capitalise.
Despite the disappointment, India ended on a high with a strong performance against Korea, underlining the team’s potential when firing collectively.
Senior player Ankita Raina said representing the country adds a different dimension to competition, regardless of rankings.
“It’s definitely a privilege playing for the country. You don’t get many opportunities. When I was on court, the only thing on my mind was to do my best for the team,” she said after a hard-fought singles match.
Raina, who experimented with a more aggressive, net-heavy approach in singles, admitted the result could have swung either way.
“I did create opportunities, but maybe it wasn’t my day. That’s sport, you accept it and move on. It hurts, but it’s always special to play for India.”
Raina-Bhosale have Asian Games in mind
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The team also drew positives from its doubles combinations, with Raina and Rutuja Bhosale expressing interest in continuing their partnership ahead of the upcoming continental events, including the Asian Games.
“We’ve played together before and have good coordination. It’s always fun to share the court with someone you’ve known for years,” said Bhosale, with Raina adding that they plan to feature in tournaments together in the lead-up.
Youngster Vaishnavi, who impressed in the latter stages, said the week helped her handle pressure situations better.
“One of the biggest takeaways for me was learning how to deal with nerves. I struggled initially but improved as the tournament went on,” she said.
Uppal emphasised that while the younger players have the game, improving mentality and physicality will be key to competing consistently at the top level.
“When you play for the country, it’s a different mentality. You’re not just playing for yourself but for 140 crore people. The youngsters have the game, but they need to grow in mindset and physical strength,” he said.
Looking ahead, Uppal remained optimistic despite the near-miss.
“For me, there’s more hope than disappointment. The girls will only improve from here,” he added.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
