New Delhi: India went down to Indonesia in their third match in the Billie Jean King Cup Group I – Asia/Oceania at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi on Thursday, with the visitors clinching both singles rubbers to take an unassailable lead. Indonesia’s win keeps them firmly in the race to finish on top of the standings, while the Republic also continued their unbeaten run with a victory over New Zealand. Thailand, meanwhile, bounced back strongly with a clean sweep against Mongolia.
In the opening singles rubber, Vaishnavi Adkar was edged out in a hard-fought three-set battle by Priska Madelyn Nugroho, going down 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 6-3. The contest swung both ways, with Adkar showing resilience to force a decider after dropping the first set in a tiebreak, but the Indonesian held her nerve in the third to seal the win.
Sahaja Yamalapalli found the going tough against Janice Tjen in the second singles rubber, with the Indonesian delivering a clinical performance to secure a 6-2, 6-1 victory and seal the tie for her team. Rutuja Bhosale and Ankita Raina were in doubles action at the time of writing against the Indonesian pair of Aldila Sutjiadi and Janice Tjen.
Elsewhere, Korea Republic extended their perfect start with a solid win over New Zealand. Dayeon Back overcame Valentina Ivanov 7-5, 6-3, while Sohyun Park dominated her match against Monique Barry, cruising to a 6-0, 6-1 victory to seal the tie. Korea top the table alongside Indonesia, with both teams winning all of their matches so far.
Thailand also returned to winning ways in emphatic fashion, sweeping Mongolia 3-0 without dropping a set. Thasaporn Naklo opened the tie with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Anu-Vjin Gantor, before Patcharin Cheapchandej mirrored that scoreline against Khongorzul Aldarkhishig. Peangtarn Plipuech and Kamonwan Yodpetch then completed the rout, defeating the Mongolian doubles pair 6-0, 6-0.
All six teams continue to compete in a round-robin format through Saturday, with the top two nations advancing to the next stage. IANS
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