Ankita's brave effort in vain as India lose again

Ankita Raina couldn't help being washed over by emotions. On the other side of the net, her higher ranked opponent Yulia Putintseva was also in a flood of tears. The sparse attendance soaked up the unexpected. The Indian had stunned the Kazakh girl, with a career-best ranking of 27, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 in the Fed Cup Asia-Oceania Group 1 tie on Thursday.

It, though, remained the solitary bright spot in the Indian campaign against Kazakhstan. India lost the second successive tie 1-2 and now face Hong Kong at the RK Khanna Stadium on Friday.

"It was an unbelievable match for me. I was waiting for such a win and I am glad it came in India in the Fed Cup," said Ankita. "I was amazed by the long points I have played in these matches. I have the belief that I can now do it consistently."

Ankita's splendid performance brought the tie on an even keel, with Karman Kaur Thandi, struggling with consistency, losing the opening singles to World No 55 Zarina Diyas 3-6, 2-6. It once again made the doubles decisive. However, Yulia, "cheered up" by her teammates, along with Zarina, beat Ankita and Prarthana Thombare 6-0, 6-4 to seal the tie.

Ankita, with enhanced fitness levels, has been impressive this week. The contest, though, was marred by atrocious umpiring. Regardless, the 253rd-ranked Indian produced a fine display of determination and flair to cull out an inspiring victory. Ankita's strokes had depth and variation and backed by her nifty footwork, she made life difficult for the hard-hitting Kazakh. Her sharp angles and cautious play wore out Yulia, who struggled to keep her cool during the final phases.

Ankita cracked Yulia's serve in the eighth game of the first set before serving out the match by picking up a volley winner. She then notched a break straightaway in the second set and could have gone up 2-0 but for a wrong call from the line umpire on game point. She ended up dropping her serve and with it the hard-earned momentum. The Indian, struggling with a cough, also showed signs of fatigue, as Yulia sprinted away to force a decider.

She returned to break Ankita at love in the third game of the final set. But the Indian fought back to level. From there on, Ankita played fluently and broke Yulia in the last 10th game when the Kazakh's forehand return was called out. The Kazakh contested the call, but the chair umpire ruled in favour of Ankita, thus handing India the set and the match. Ankita sunk into her knees before sharing the tears of the emotional victory with her mother.

Ankita, who has been left out of the Sports Ministry's TOP scheme, later made a quiet remark: "I believe in working hard and in my racquet doing the talking."