India rode on its young singles players to bounce back and win its second tie against New Zealand 3-0 to stay in contention for a top-two finish of the Billie Jean King Cup Asia/Oceania Group I and a spot in the Playoffs here on Wednesday despite rains threatening to play spoilsport.
After a disappointing 2-1 loss against Thailand in the opening tie that stretched across two days due to inclement weather, Vaishnavi Adkar and Sahaja Yamalapalli fought back, the latter within hours of her opening match, to give India a 2-0 lead at the DLTA Complex. The experienced pair of Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale then completed the formalities with a 6-4, 6-2 win against the fancied pair of Erin Routliffe and Monique Barry to be third on the table.
Vaishnavi, who was all over the place in the opening match on Tuesday, was far more in control of her shots and won 6-2, 6-4 against Aishi Das. Clearly superior to her 18-year-old opponent, ranked more than 700 places behind, Vaishnavi dominated with a more assured presence, relying on her accuracy and Aishi’s inconsistency to race to a 6-2 win in the first set.
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With the sun shining through, Vaishnavi was able to control the ball’s speed much better and broke Aishi in the opening game itself, then again in the fifth and seventh games to take the set. Aishi put up an improved performance in the second, fighting back from being 4-1 down to level 4-4, but Vaishnavi quickly regained control and then served out the match when Aishi hit wide.
Earlier, in the morning, India lost the opening tie against Thailand 2-1 after Patcharin Cheapchandej won her overnight match against Sahaja 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. Ankita and Rutuja completed a consolation win against Thesaporn Naklo/Peangtarn Plipuech 6-3, 6-4 in the doubles. Sahaja, who only had 5.5 hours between her two matches, showed no signs of fatigue against Valentina Ivanov in her 6-1, 6-3 win in one hour and 25 minutes.
Intelligently mixing her strokes and pushing Valentina hard to earn every point across the court, Sahaja added soft drops and volleys to her powerful returns from the baseline to stay in control.
The results:
India bt New Zealand 3-0: Vaishnavi Adkar (Ind) bt Aishi Das (Nzl) 6-2, 6-4; Sahaja Yamalapalli (Ind) bt Valentina Ivanov (Nzl) 6-1, 6-3; Rutuja Bhosale/Ankita Raina (Ind) bt Monique Barry/Erin Routliffe (Nzl) 6-4, 6-2.
Indonesia bt Mongolia 3-0: Aldila Sutjiadi (Ina) bt Anu-Vjin Gantor (Mgl) 6-0, 6-0; Anjali Kirana Junarto (Ina) bt Khongorzul Aldarkhishig (Mgl) 6-2, 6-0; Anjali Kirana Junarto/Meydiana Laviola Reinnamah (Ina) bt Jargal Altansarnai/Oyungerel Khasbaatar (Mgl) 6-0, 6-0.
Korea bt Thailand: Dayeon Back (Kor) bt Anchisa Chanta (Tha) 6-3, 6-4; Sohyun Park (Kor) bt Patcharin Cheapchandej (Tha) 6-4, 6-1; Dayeon Back/Eunhye Lee (Kor) vs Thesaporn Naklo/Kamonwan Yodpetch (Tha)
Published on Apr 08, 2026
The results:
India bt New Zealand 3-0: Vaishnavi Adkar (Ind) bt Aishi Das (Nzl) 6-2, 6-4; Sahaja Yamalapalli (Ind) bt Valentina Ivanov (Nzl) 6-1, 6-3; Rutuja Bhosale/Ankita Raina (Ind) bt Monique Barry/Erin Routliffe (Nzl) 6-4, 6-2.
Indonesia bt Mongolia 3-0: Aldila Sutjiadi (Ina) bt Anu-Vjin Gantor (Mgl) 6-0, 6-0; Anjali Kirana Junarto (Ina) bt Khongorzul Aldarkhishig (Mgl) 6-2, 6-0; Anjali Kirana Junarto/Meydiana Laviola Reinnamah (Ina) bt Jargal Altansarnai/Oyungerel Khasbaatar (Mgl) 6-0, 6-0.
Korea bt Thailand: Dayeon Back (Kor) bt Anchisa Chanta (Tha) 6-3, 6-4; Sohyun Park (Kor) bt Patcharin Cheapchandej (Tha) 6-4, 6-1; Dayeon Back/Eunhye Lee (Kor) vs Thesaporn Naklo/Kamonwan Yodpetch (Tha)
