Ankita shines with two wins as Indian Fed Cup team creates Fed Cup history
Dubai: The Indian Fed cup team created history by progressing to the play-offs for the first time ever with Ankita Raina leading the side to a 2-1 win over Indonesia, here.
Ankita on Saturday night pulled off a crucial singles win against talented Aldila Sutjiadi to lock the tie 1-1 after Rutuja Bhosale suffered a crushing defeat against an unranked Priska Madelyn Nugroho.
Up against the 16-year-old Indonesian, who is ranked 15th on the ITF junior circuit, Rutuja lost 3-6 6-0 3-6 in one hour and 43 minutes in the opening singles.
Ankita, who lost her previous two singles, demolished the challenge of talented Aldila Sutjiadi 6-3 6-3 in the second rubber.
She then combined with seasoned Sania Mirza to beat Sutziyadi and Nugroho 7-6(4) 6-0 to seal India's place in the play-offs where they will take on either Latvia or the Netherlands in April.
They overcame a sluggish start as they were trailing 1-4 but regrouped to dominate the decisive set.
India finished second in the six-team Group with four wins in a row after losing the opening tie to China, who remained unbeaten in the tournament.
Since earning their place back in Asia/Oceania Group I in 2016, India remained in the regional group. With the rise of Ankita, things began to improve.
Rutuja also played a key role as she provided winning starts in a few ties, sharing the burden with Ankita. Sania's return to Fed Cup after four years also helped as her inspirational presence and guidance helped the side immensely. India's non-playing captain Vishal Uppal is delighted with the result.
"It's a historic moment and to be part of it feels surreal. I am proud of each and every member of our team -- the players, physio, coach, manager. We all came together and worked towards a common goal," Uppal told PTI.
"I hope this win will give a big boost to women's tennis in India."
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Delhi polls: BJP releases second list of 29 candidates, features ex-CM's son, Kapil Mishra
New Delhi, Jan 11: The BJP on Saturday released its second list featuring 29 candidates for the Delhi Assembly polls, fielding Kapil Mishra, a former AAP leader now identified with hardline Hindutva politics, from Karawal Nagar.
It has fielded Harish Khurana, son of former Delhi chief minister Madan Lal Khurana, from the Moti Nagar constituency.
With the latest announcement, the party has so far named candidates for 58 seats of the 70-member Delhi Assembly.
The elections are scheduled to be held on February 5 and the votes will be counted on February 8.
Mishra, who replaced sitting party MLA Mohan Singh Bisht, made several speeches, denounced as inflammatory by rival parties, just before communal riots broke out in northeast Delhi in February 2020.
Sitting BJP MLA from Laxmi Nagar seat Abhay Verma will seek reelection from the same seat. He won the constituency in 2020 with a narrow margin of just over 800 votes.
Both Mishra and Verma are Purvanchalis. Two other candidates, Bajrang Shukla from Kirari and Pankaj Singh from Vikaspuri, also belong to the same community.
Delhi BJP's Mandir Prakoshth (temple cell) chief Karnail Singh is the party's candidate against sitting AAP MLA and former minister Satyendar Jain at Shakoor Basti seat.
Former Kasturba Nagar MLA Neeraj Basoya, who recently defected to the BJP from Congress, was fielded from the same seat.
Former Delhi BJP general secretary (organisation) Pawan Sharma will contest Uttam Nagar seat that he won in 2013.
Deepti Indora, Matia Mahal, Urmila Kailash Gangwar, Madipur (SC), Shweta Saini, Tilak Nagar, Priyanka Gautam, Kondli (SC), and Neelam Pahalwan from Najafgarh are the party's women candidates so far.
The list features four former MLAs and eight sitting municipal councilors.
Former mayor Shyam Sharma was fielded from the Hari Nagar seat which has a significant number of Sikh voters.
Tickets on remaining 12 tickets will likely be announced soon after discussions on seats like Delhi Cantt, Greater Kailash and Shahdara.
Party sources said former Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi was considered for the Greater Kailash seat, although she was interested in contesting from Delhi Cantt.
भाजपा की केन्द्रीय चुनाव समिति ने दिल्ली में होने वाले विधानसभा चुनाव 2025 के लिए निम्नलिखित नामों पर अपनी स्वीकृति प्रदान की है। pic.twitter.com/STdMQZZ2VM
— BJP (@BJP4India) January 11, 2025
