Zeel Desai (right), put in by captain Vishal Uppal for match practice, drubbed 15-year-old Anu-Vjin Gantor 6-0, 6-0 in just 37 minutes for a winning start to her Billie Jean King Cup debut. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Away from the spotlight, India stamped its dominance with a 3-0 win against minnow Mongolia in the Billie Jean King Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie to keep chances of advancing alive by the barest of margins in New Delhi on Friday.

Playing on Court 1 after three days of action on the Centre Court, India had little trouble wrapping up the day’s proceedings in less than three hours.

Zeel Desai, put in by captain Vishal Uppal for match practice, drubbed 15-year-old Anu-Vjin Gantor 6-0, 6-0 in just 37 minutes for a winning start to her Billie Jean King Cup debut. Sahaja Yamalapalli followed suit, taking five minutes more for her win against 32-year-old Jargal Altansarnai by an identical scoreline.

With Ankita Raina rested, Vaishnavi Adkar then teamed up with Rutuja Bhosale to complete the formalities 6-1, 6-0 in 48 minutes as the matches had lesser intensity than a casual hitting session.

For Zeel, who pulled out of an ITF semifinal to join the Indian side at the last minute, it was a walk in the park. The few points that her opponent did manage were more due to errors from Zeel than her own efforts, sending the ball flying in all directions and barely able to garner enough strength for a decent return. It was the same story in the other two matches, with the Mongolians barely sustaining.

The result would give the Indians - currently fourth in the six-team competition with only the top two advancing - much-needed confidence ahead of the final tie against Korea, with only a faint mathematical chance of advancing.

Thailand, meanwhile, improved its chances with a 3-0 win against New Zealand even as unbeaten Indonesia went top of the table with a 2-1 win against Korea.

Published on Apr 10, 2026