BJK Cup: Vaishnavi, Sahaja post milestone wins; India beat New Zealand

NEW DELHI: Like the Delhi weather over the past two days, chilly and cold on Tuesday evening to warm and hot on Wednesday afternoon, Vaishnavi Adkar also had contrast in fortunes and performance in the BJK Cup.

On Tuesday, against Indonesia's Aunchisa Chanta, she was swept aside by the left-hander's shot-making, letting nerves dictate her debut for the national team.

A day later, starting the Asia/Oceania Group 1 tie against New Zealand, she was on the money with her forehands and the errant serve had also subsided. In a contest lasting an hour and 30 minutes, she beat New Zealand's Aishi Das 6-2, 6-4 for her first win in the national team colours.





"This is something that I have been looking forward to for so many years. Like getting on to the team, not just as a reserve, but as one of the playing five. So being able to get the win is really special because it means a lot. Because there is a lot of emotion behind it," she told reporters after the win.

"So it really feels very special. Especially when it's at home, and I've got the crowd support and everything. It really means a lot," she continued.

The far more experienced Indian, who became the top-ranked Indian this week, made the most of World No. 1151 Das's inconsistent show. Ironically, less than 24 hours after having her serve repeatedly put under the pump, Adkar closed out the first set with an ace.

The 21-year-old had her lead cut and was broken to bring the second set to 4-4. But the Indian hit back immediately as Das' error count went against her chances to force a decider.

The change in weather and conditions did play a role, she admitted.

"Yeah, when it's cold, the ball travels a bit faster. And when it's warm, the balls feel heavy, and it travels a bit slow. So definitely, it was more controlled today than yesterday. So I think that also really helped me a lot," she stated.

Vaishnavi wasn't the only Indian to celebrate a milestone win. Sahaja Yamalapalli, too, notched her first win in India colours in the team competition.

Since making her debut against China in 2024, she went through ties against New Zealand, Thailand, Korea, Slovenia, Netherlands and Thailand again only to come out second best.

Having suffered a three-set defeat to Patcharin Cheapchandej in a match that resumed on Wednesday morning, Sahaja walked up to the court once again with the hope of picking her first win.

It took her all of 76 minutes to dispatch Valentina Ivanov 6-1, 6-3 to not just seal her maiden 'W', but also assured India of an unbeatable scoreline.

"Definitely I'm happy. I know my record has not been great in the BJK Cup but I also played really tough matches. So it was tough to get a W. But I'm happy to get one win under my belt.

"I don't want to look at it that way also. I want to take it one match at a time and focus on what I can do and not on my records," she told TimesofIndia.com after the match.

Sahaja, who has come through the US Collegiate system, was broken to start wtih but quickly bounced back to win the next eight games in a row, including the first set along the way.

Ivanov tried to mount a comeback in the second set, bringing things back to serve, and then saving three break points but couldn't fend off a fourth.

Yamalapalli sealed the deal on the first match opportunity, forcing Ivanov into an error.

Rutuja Bhosale and Ankita Raina made it 3-0 to India, pocketing their second win of the day, after beating Monique Barry and Erin Routliffe 6-4, 6-2.

Day 1 Scores from BJK Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1

• India 1-2 Thailand
• Korea 3-0 Mongolia
• New Zealand 1-2 Indonesia

Day 2 Scores from BJK Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1

• India 3-0 New Zealand
• Indonesia 3-0 Mongolia
• Korea 3-0 Thailand