Vishal Uppal to lead Indian team in Billie Jean King Cup tennis in Pune
Vishal Uppal returns as the captain of the Indian team for the Billie Jean King Cup Asia-Oceania group-1 women’s tennis competition to be staged at the Deccan Gymkhana, Pune, from April 7.
Despite her splendid run in the $115,000 WTA event in Mumbai, when she reached the semifinals as a qualifier, the 15-year-old Maaya Rajeshwaran has been named as a reserve for the team.
Ankita Raina, Sahaja Yamalapalli, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, Vaidehi Chaudhari and Prarthana Thombare make the team.
“The team has been selected based on rankings, recent performances and player availability,” said the secretary general of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) Anil Dhupar in a release issued on Saturday, following the meeting of the selection committee.
There will be a training stint for the team from April 2. Vaishnavi Adkar and Rutuja Bhosale are scheduled to join the training camp.
Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Korea, New Zealand and Thailand will be the other teams in the tournament that would be played on a league basis with the top two teams qualifying for the play-off, and the bottom two getting relegated to group-2.
The team: Ankita Raina, Sahaja Yamalapalli, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, Vaidehi Chaudhari, Prarthana Thombare. Reserve: Maaya Rajeshwaran. Captain: Vishal Uppal; Coach: Radhika Kanitkar.
Published – March 01, 2025 07:19 pm IST
