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Astana (Kazakhstan): India ended their campaign at the Fed Cup with a fourth-place finish after losing the classification tie 2-1 to South Korea. India badly missed Karman Kaur Thandi, who did not play on Saturday due to injury. Captain Vishal Uppal handed national champion Mahak Jain her Fed Cup debut after a groin strain forced Karman out of the tie. Mahak played her heart out before losing 2-6 6-3 1-6 against Na Ri Kim.
Ankita Raina leveled the tie by beating Sunam Jiong 6-3 6-3 in one hour and 18 minutes. In the doubles match, Ankita and Prarthana Thombare lost 4-6 4-6 to Su Jeong Jang and Na Ri Kim.
“Big learning curve for Mahak today,” Uppal said. “She could have won but she dropped off at the start of the third set which you cannot afford to do against a good player. Ankita dominated her match and we could have won today had Karman been fit enough to play.”
Uppal said the future was bright for the Indian team. “As a captain, I have seen a lot of good things which we need to build on. I think once we have all our best girls healthy, we can become an even more dangerous team. I am encouraged by the fact that we are a young team and we will only keep getting better,” Uppal said. “I am probably a bit disappointed about today’s result but overall I am very upbeat about our future prospects. I think Ankita can break into the top-100 this year if she stays healthy and keeps playing the way she has played this week,” added Uppal. pti