India bag crucial win against Hong Kong, China at Billie Jean King Cup Asia-Oceania Group 1

Pune, April 11: The Indian team carried on their winning run at the Billie Jean King Cup Asia-Oceania Group 1, delivering a strong performance to secure a 2-1 victory against Hong Kong, China, here on Thursday evening. The tournament, organized by MSLTA in association with ITF, AITA, and PMDTA, is taking place at the Mahalunge Balewadi Tennis Complex in Pune, as per a release from Billie Jean King Cup.

India got off to the ideal start on day three, courtesy of Vaidehi Chaudhari's splendid performance against Ho Ching Wu in the Indian's first game of the tournament. The youngster, hailing from Ahmedabad, fought tooth and nail in a tightly contested first set, winning the tiebreak 10-8.

She wasted no time imposed herself in the second set, eventually securing a 7-6 (10-8), 6-1 victory in 2 hours and 3 minutes to give India a 1-0 lead in the tie against Hong Kong, China.

In the second singles match between the two countries, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty carried on her fabulous run in the tournament, maintaining a perfect record after three matches.

The young Indian star had to dig deep against Hong Yi Cody Wong in a three-set encounter that lasted 2 hours and 27 minutes. Shrivalli bagged the first set in a tiebreak, winning 8-6, before her opponent fought back. However, the Indian had the last laugh with eight aces, securing a crucial 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 victory to give India an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie.

In their final match of the day, the Indian duo of Ankita Raina and Prarthana Thombare fell short in a hard-fought battle against Eudice Chong and Hong Yi Cody Wong.

The experienced Indian pair secured the first set in a tiebreak before the Hong Kong, China duo fought back in the second set. From there on in, Hong Kong, China had the better of the exchanges, winning the final set and the contest at 7-6, 3-6, 11-13.

The Indian team will play Chinese Taipei in the third match of the Billie Jean King Cup on Thursday. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Ministry of Sports and Youth Welfare (Maharashtra) powered the tournament.

Reader Comments

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Rahul K.

What a performance by our girls! Vaidehi's comeback in that first set tiebreak was 🔥. Shrivalli continues to impress with her consistency. The doubles loss was unfortunate but overall a great day for Indian tennis!

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Priya M.

So proud of our women athletes! The future looks bright with young talents like Vaidehi and Shrivalli coming through. That doubles match sounded intense - 13-11 in the final set must have been nerve-wracking to watch!

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Arjun S.

While the win is great, I think our doubles team needs to work on maintaining momentum after winning the first set. Too many close matches slipping away in the deciders. Still, 2-1 is a solid result overall.

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Sunita R.

Eight aces from Shrivalli! That's some serious serving under pressure. The way she bounced back after losing the second set shows great mental strength. Hoping they can carry this momentum against Chinese Taipei!

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Vikram J.

Great to see tennis getting this kind of coverage in India. The Billie Jean King Cup is such an important platform for our women players. Kudos to all the organizers and supporters making this happen!

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