India has missed out on the Billie Jean King (BJK) Cup Playoffs after being handed a 1-2 defeat at the hands of New Zealand. Part of Asia-Oceania Group I, India needed two wins to secure their place. Rutuja Bhosale had given India a great start, winning the opening match, but suffered a straight-set defeat in the two remaining ties and crashed out of the event.
Ankita Raina disappoints once again
Despite being India’s top-ranked (185) singles player, Ankita Raina managed to win just two games. Going against world number 169, Lulu Sun, she lost the first set 6-2, and it got only worse in the second set as she was bageled. Meanwhile, Rutuja Bhosale claimed a good win over Monique Barry 6-2, 7-6(5), handing India a 0-1 lead.
Tied at 1-1, India needed their Ankita and Prarthana Thombare to take them home. They quickly lost the first set to Paige Hourigan, and Erin Routliffe led 6-1 and was down 5-1 in the second. However, they came back and leveled things at 5-5, only to lose it.
India was in contention to make the Billie Jean King Cup Playoffs until the very last match. After their hard-fought victories against Taiwan and South Korea, missing out by a whisker will hurt the Indian team. After this loss, New Zealand and India will continue to stay in Group I for the next year.
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