New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) Thailand took an early lead overhosts India on the opening day of the Billie Jean King Cup Asia/Oceania Group I Qualifiers at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) Stadium on Tuesday, after rain forced play to be suspended.

Persistent showers earlier in the day delayed the start of proceedings by nearly three hours, with the opening singles rubber getting underway close to 6 p.m.

India’s Vaishnavi Adkar, ranked No. 383 in the world and making her debut in the competition, made a slow start against 23-year-old Anchisa Chanta (No. 456).

The Thai player, using her unorthodox two-handed groundstrokes, raced to a 4-0 lead and dictated play throughout the opening set, which she claimed 6-1.

Adkar showed signs of a fightback in the second set, gainingan early break.

However, Chanta responded strongly, winning four consecutive games to go up 4-1. Although the Indian narrowed the gap to 4-3, Chanta regained control, breaking once more before serving out the match 6-1, 6-3 in one hour and 13 minutes to give Thailand a 1-0 lead. The victory improved Chanta’s singles record in the competition to 8-1.

In the second singles rubber, Thai veteran PatcharinCheapchandej led Sahaja Yamalapalli 6-4, 1-6, 4-3 when rain once again interrupted play, forcing the match to be suspended until Wednesday morning

Yamalapalli conceded an early break in the first set but fought back to level terms before Cheapchandej (No. 449) secured a decisive break to take the set 6-4. The Indian (No. 384) bounced back strongly in the second set to cruise to a 6-1 win.

Cheapchandej, who holds a 7-3 singles record in the competition, broke early in the decider to lead 3-1, only for Yamalapalli to claw her way back to 3-3. The Thai player broke again in the seventh game before rain halted play for the second time in the day.

The match will resume at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, followed by the doubles rubber, where Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale are scheduled to take on

Thailand’s Thasaporn Naklo and Peangtarn Plipuech. India will later face New Zealand in their second tie of the competition.

In other ties, the Korea Republic blanked Mongolia, winning both singles rubbers and the doubles without dropping a single game.

Indonesia registered a 2-0 win over New Zealand, courtesy victories from world No. 41 Janice Tjen, the highest-ranked singles player in the field this week, and world No. 389 Priska Nugroho. The doubles match in that tie was also suspended due to rain and will resume on Wednesday morning.

All six teams are competing in a round-robin format through Saturday, with the top two nations advancing to the next stage. On Wednesday, Thailand will face the Korea Republic, while Indonesia will take on Mongolia.

--IANS

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