Published on Apr 25, 2004
Courtesy : The times of India

[24.04.2004] NEW DELHI : India could not match the might of Thailand and went down 2-0 in the Group I play-off of the Fed Cup Asia / Oceania Zone at the RK Khanna Stadium here on Saturday.

Thailand advanced to the World Group qualifiers to be played on 10-11 July this year.

The top seeds were joined by Indonesia in the qualifiers, after their doubles team were involved in their second winning act in as many days, beating New Zealand after both sides were level at one-all in the singles. Angelique Widjaja/ Wynee Prakusya beat Eden Marama/ Paula Marama 4-6, 7-6, 6-1.

Earlier, India gambled by bringing in Rushmi Chakravarthi in place of Ankita Bhambri to give themselves a semblance of a chance against the top seeds. With Rushmi slated to play Thai No 1 Tamarine Tanasugarn, Sania Mirza who had been playing as the top Indian seed, till now, got the only chance India could aspire to picking up an early lead.

Sadly, the gamble didn't pay off. Sania lost to Suchanun Viratprasert 6-7 (3), 6-1.

Sania managed to claw back from 3-5 down in the first set to force a tiebreak but couldn't break through the Thai's unflappable game. Having lost the first set, Sania's chance came early in the second set when she had five opportunities to break Viratprasert's serve in the opening game but squandered them away.

Sania held on to her serve in the next game but that was the last time she won a game in the match. Viratprasert, ranked 177 places higher than the Indian, just ran through Sania's game. Even cries of, "Come on, Aapi!" from Sania's kid sister Anam, couldn't bolster Sania's confidence.

The 17-year-old from Hyderabad did play some delightful strokes but made too many mistakes at the wrong time. She didn't convert the break points into leads and even her first serve let her down on Saturday.

India 's second single pitted Rushmi Chakravarthi against Tanasugarn, ranked 54 in the world. For many hopes of equalising still remained but minutes into the match, it was clear that India were fighting a losing cause.

Rushmi who hadn't stepped on the court for nearly a week, had a tall order of beating Tanasugarn, who remained unbeaten through the event. She was clearly no match for the Thai losing 0-6, 1-6 in just 42 minutes.

Tanasugarn, looked in fine touch from the word go. She ran Rushmi ragged on the court, from one end to the other and broke the Indian's serve at every possible opportunity. Rushmi lacked the self-belief and more importantly the will to win. But to expect her to beat Tamarine was only wishful thinking.