Sania,Rushmi seal Fed Cup promotion

Sania Mirza and Rushmi Charavarthy registered contrasting singles victories as India blanked Kyrgyzstan 3-0 in the play-off tie...

Sania Mirza and Rushmi Charavarthy registered contrasting singles victories as India blanked Kyrgyzstan 3-0 in the play-off tie to win back their place in the Asia/Oceania Group I of the Fed Cup on Saturday. India had been relegated to Group II of the zonal competition last year after losing the play-off tie to Chinese Taipei.

With Poojashree Venkatesh suffering a knee injury ahead of the tie,Charavarthy played the first singles against Bermet Duvanaeva and faced stiff competition before winning 6-4 1-6 6-3.

The second singles was a cakewalk for Mirza,who cruised to a 6-0 6-2 win over Ksenia Palkina and clinched the only slot for promotion for her side.

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Charavarthy and Sanaa Bhambri were leading 6-0 1-0 in the doubles when the the rival pair of Bermet and Nelli Buyuklianova conceded the inconsequential rubber.

Coach Enrico Piperno was satisfied with the teams performance,but said a stern test lay ahead. I am happy with the way we played. We achieved what we wanted to,the mission is accomplished. It was not that it was too easy. The other teams were competitive,there was no novice, Piperno said.

Bigger challenge

Group I will be tough. There are teams like Kazakhstan who now have some good players in their ranks, Piperno added.

Piperno said Mirzas presence helped the other members of the team. Sania has been a great help. She is a good support and her presence made a difference.

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Talking about Venkatesh who won both the matches on her debut,Piperno said her real test would come only next season. She still has a long way to go. This was no test for her. We can only judge her next year when she plays tougher teams in Group I, he said.