New Delhi, April 9 Captain Vishal Uppal termed it a "day of missed opportunities" after India slumped to a 0-3 defeat against Indonesia in their third Asia/Oceania Group I tie of the Billie Jean King Cup here on Thursday, but asserted that his young side must regroup quickly and come out fighting against Korea.
India had already conceded the tie to Indonesia after Vaishnavi Adkar and Sahaja Yamalapalli lost their singles matches, before the doubles defeat handed a clean sweep to the visiting team.
Reflecting on the result, Uppal said the contest could have taken a different turn had India capitalised on key moments.
"It’s a tough day. A day of missed chances for us. Had we converted, this could have been a different story. But the reality is we didn’t,” he told reporters.
India had opportunities early, particularly in the opening singles rubber, where converting chances could have put the hosts ahead and shifted the pressure on to Indonesia.
The doubles pair too squandered opportunities in the second set, underlining the team’s inability to close out crucial situations.
"We have to go back to the drawing board, learn from it and move on. We have to come out fighting hard,” Uppal added.
On Sahaja’s loss to world No. 41 Janice Tjen, Uppal said the gap in consistency at the highest level was evident.
“There’s a reason why she’s ranked where she is. Against top players, you can’t afford to play two good points and then make three or four errors. That really hurts you,” he said.
Despite the loss, Uppal remained focused on the larger objective of player development, insisting that results alone would not define the team’s progress.
“Maybe we make it this year, maybe we don’t. But our tennis has to grow. For that, it’s important to come out and fight every single day,” he said.
India next face Mongolia before a crucial tie against Korea, which could still keep their playoff hopes alive. India had lost to Thailand 1-2 before beating New Zealand 3-0 on Wednesday.
Only the top two teams will make it to the playoffs. The hosts are placed in fourth place with Korea and Indonesia taking the top two spots with three wins. Even if India beat Mongolia and Korea, it will come down to matches, sets and games won and lost.
Asked if logically it is virtually difficult now for India to make it to playoff, Uppal said: "Yeah, thankfully logic doesn't work. Statistics works. Mathematics works. So, we still have to play Korea.
"If we can beat them, yeah, then it comes down to mathematics, not the logic. So, and even otherwise, look, we have some youngsters on this team. We want to beat Korea because we want our players to develop.
"Yeah, maybe we make it this year, we don't make it this year. That's okay. But our tennis has to grow."
India were supposed to play Mongolia on Thursday but came to know about their opponent late Wednesday night.
"We got to know about it late last night. The referee came and told us that there's a change and that's okay," he said.
"He spoke to all of us, the captains and that's fine. We had to play Indonesia either today or tomorrow or whatever. So that didn't really make a big difference for us."