Billie Jean King Cup: India face Thailand in opener

NEW DELHI: India begin their campaign in the Billie Jean King (BJK) Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie against Thailand here on Tuesday aiming to secure a World Group playoffs spot for the third time in six years. The home challenge will be spearheaded by veterans Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale with Vaishnavi Adkar, Sahaja Yamalappalli and Zeel Desai completing the line-up. Zeel joined the squad at the last minute following injuries to Shrivalli Bhamidipaty and Vaidehee Chaudhari. Former Davis Cupper and Asian Games medallist Vishaal Uppal will captain the side. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The Asia/Oceania Group I tie will follow a round-robin format, with participating teams facing each other. Only the top two teams will advance to the 2026 World Group playoffs. “Our practice sessions went off well and everyone seemed to be in good form and in a good state of mind. The team is physically and mentally ready to battle it out for the next five days and hopefully qualify for the playoffs again. We have good depth in the squad, and all the girls have been working hard and playing well. “The mixture of youth and experience is very valuable to the team and we are hoping that everyone remains fit and healthy, physically and mentally, and we can fight our hearts out this week,” Uppal told TOI.