New Delhi, April 8 India's Rutuja Bhosale expressed her frustration on Wednesday over "crucial" line calls that, she felt, disrupted momentum during the last two days of the Billie Jean King Cup Asia/Oceania Group I ties.
Rutuja, who partnered Ankita Raina to record doubles victories against Thailand and New Zealand, was visibly animated during the latter tie and later said questionable officiating at key moments made things difficult.
"It's definitely frustrating to have such calls at crucial moments,” she said during the press conference.
"Sometimes we feel the ball was in or out and those calls can change momentum. I do get aggressive about it. Today also there were a couple of moments in the doubles where the calls were quite off. If it’s close, you understand, but some of them weren’t."
She admitted she had to rein in her reactions given the team context.
"In a normal match, I might have been more aggressive, but here you also have to think of the team. At the end of the day, they are not going to change the call, so you just have to move on,” she added.
India endured multiple contentious calls during their opening tie against Thailand, including in the singles match between Sahaja Yamalapalli and Patcharin Cheapchandej, where both camps engaged in heated exchanges with the chair umpire.
Disputed calls also surfaced on Wednesday during Vaishnavi’s singles and the doubles clash.
Captain Vishal Uppal admitted luck did not favour India against Thailand but refused to use it as an excuse for the 1-2 defeat.
"It's okay. It's part and parcel of the game. Obviously, the players are working hard. Calls go your way, calls don't go your way," Uppal said after India's 1-2 loss against Thailand.
"Unfortunately, they didn't go our way yesterday. But that's not the reason why we lost 2 matches," the Captain added.
India’s dominant 3-0 win over New Zealand came just hours after a disappointing loss to Thailand, and captain Vishal Uppal said the team had no option but to respond with intent.
"After Thailand, our backs were against the wall. The only option was to come out swinging. Offence was the best defence and so we were aggressive in our approach,” Uppal said.
He credited the players for showing resilience under pressure.
"It was a tough loss and it’s not easy to bounce back from that, but the way the girls responded today showed real character. We told ourselves we don’t back down, no matter who we are playing. This win keeps us in the mix," he added.
Uppal also stressed the importance of winning in straight sets in a format where every game counts.
"In this format, everything matters -- matches, sets, even games. Winning 3-0 today was very important for us," he said.
Looking ahead to the next tie against Mongolia, Uppal made it clear that the team will not take anything for granted despite the apparent difference in rankings.
"Scheduling is not in our control. We don’t look at which team we are playing or when. The focus is on preparation," he said.
"At the same time, matches like these give us a chance to reassess, recover and get ourselves ready for tougher challenges later in the week." India will face Mongolia on Thursday.