Pune: Ankita Raina and Prarthana delivered when it mattered as they clinched the decisive doubles rubber to beat South Korea 2-1 and advance to the World Group Playoffs of the Billie Jean King Cup women’s team tennis competition on Saturday.
Having fallen short in three of the previous four ties, Ankita and Prarthana rose to the occasion to score a thrilling 6-4, 6-3 win over Sohyun Park and Dabin Kim in their final round-robin fixture in Mhalunge-Balewadi.
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The win meant India finished second in the group behind New Zealand, who had already confirmed their pole position in the six-team competition on Friday. As the top two teams, New Zealand and India will now compete in the playoff scheduled to be played in November. Korea and Thailand, who beat Chinese Taipei 2-1 in their final clash, remain in the group while the latter and Hong Kong will go down to relegation playoff.
Raina and Prarthana’s win came after the in-form Shrivalli Rashmikaa put India ahead by outlasting Park 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (5) in a marathon opening singles that lasted 2 hours and 52 minutes before Dayeon Back levelled it for Korea with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Sahaja Yamalapalli.
It is the second time ever the Indian women will be competing in the playoffs, with captain Vishaal Uppal having led them the last time they made it there in 2020.
