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The Indian women’s team bowed out of the Billie Jean King Cup 2024 Asia/Oceania Group 1 after losing to China 3-0 on Wednesday, April 10. Sahaja Yamalapalli, Ankita Raina, Rutuja Bhosale, and Prarthana Thombare faltered big time at the Moon Island Clay Park in Changsha.
In the first game, World No. 311 Sahaja lost to World No.43 Wang Xinyu in straight sets. Wang took an hour and 33 minutes to beat her Indian opponent 6-2, 6-3. The Chinese star is also the 2023 mixed doubles champion at the French Open and was a semi-finalist at the US Open in the same year.
Ankita Raina also slumps to defeat
After Sahaja faced defeat, World No.255 Ankita Raina lost to Qinwen Zheng. World No. 7 Zheng was dominant as she won the match 6-0, 6-0 in a bit over an hour. Earlier this year, Zheng made her debut in the top 10 of the WTA Rankings after finishing as the finalist in the women’s singles of the Australian Open.
Zheng qualified for the final at the Rod Laver Arena but lost to World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who successfully defended her title. After Zheng and Wang gave China a 2-0 lead, the pair of Guo Hanyu and Wang helped China win the tie 3-0.
Wang and Hanyu defeated the Indian duo of Prathana Thombare and Rutuja Bhosale. They took 56 minutes to win the dead rubber 6-1, 6-1.
India will have their chance to make amends when they face Chinese Taipei on Thursday, April 8. Currently placed fourth in the table, India are required to finish in the top two to make their way through to the playoffs.
If they finish their campaign in the bottom two, they will be relegated to Group 2 in the next edition of the championship. Earlier, India beat Pacific Oceania 3-0 but failed to carry the momentum against China.
