Ankita Raina played strong but India slipped to a 1-2 defeat to Korea in the match for the third place in the Fed Cup Asia Oceania group-1 women’s tennis tournament in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Saturday.
India’s aspirations to at least finish third among the seven teams suffered a severe jolt as Karman Kaur Thandi could not play, owing to a leg injury.
Two-time national champion Mahak Jain did fight for three sets in the first singles, and Ankita equalised by winning her singles easily at 6-3, 6-3.
However, in the decisive doubles the Koreans beat Ankita and Prarthana Thombare 6-4, 6-4.
“We could have won the tie,’’ said captain Vishaal Uppal, quite satisfied by the fighting performance by the team.
Host Kazakhstan won the competition, beating China 2-1 in the final, and qualified for World Group-2 play-off.
Indonesia beat Thailand 2-1 and pushed it to group-2 in the relegation play off between the two third placed teams in the two groups. Pacific
Oceania had already been relegated to group-2 as it had finished fourth in the four-team group.
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