India Vs Thailand, Billie Jean King Cup: Unforced Errors Haunt Vaishnavi; Rain Halts Sahaja's Match

Debutant Vaishnavi Adkar cracked under a barrage of unforced errors, slumping to a shock straight-set defeat against Aunchisa Chanta, as rain left India's opening Asia/Oceania Group I tie of the Billie Jean King Cup against Thailand hanging in the balance in New Delhi on Tuesday.

With Sahaja Yamalapalli locked in a gritty second singles against Patcharin Cheapchandej, the hosts' fate remained uncertain when persistent rain forced play to halt.

Ranked 73 places above her Thai opponent at 383, Vaishnavi went down 1-6, 3-6 in one hour and 13 minutes on the DLTA Centre Court after more than three hours of delay due to drizzle and unusually cool conditions.

The onus then shifted to Sahaja (384), who was trailing 4-6, 6-1, 3-4 against world No. 449 Patcharin when the skies opened up again.

The match will now resume at 11am on Wednesday ahead of India's next fixture against New Zealand at 3pm.

Sahaja fought hard and struck the ball cleanly but lacked variation, allowing Patcharin to dictate key exchanges, especially by targeting the Indian's backhand on serve. The Thai held her nerve better in crunch moments.

Serving to stay in the opening set at 4-5, Sahaja faltered under pressure, committing a string of errors to hand Patcharin the lead.

The Indian responded strongly in the second set, breaking early and racing to a 5-1 lead before sealing it with a crisp backhand volley to restore parity.

However, Sahaja was broken early in the decider during a baseline-heavy contest. She squandered three break-back chances at 0-40 in the sixth game before finally levelling at 3-3 with successive backhand winners. She had just dropped serve again when rain interrupted play.

Earlier, Vaishnavi endured a shaky start, dropping serve in the opening game amid a flurry of errors. She fought through a lengthy third game, saving three break points and extending it over seven deuces, but ultimately fell to a down-the-line backhand winner, putting her at a 0-3 deficit.

Aunchisa, a left-hander with a rare double-handed forehand and a penetrating backhand, dictated play from the baseline to race to a 4-0 lead. Vaishnavi briefly steadied to get on the board in the fifth game, but the momentum firmly remained with the Thai player.

Under sustained pressure, Vaishnavi soon faced two set points and surrendered the opener in just 23 minutes, sending a forehand long before pushing a backhand wide.

She began the second set on a brighter note with an early break, only to hand the advantage straight back with another loose service game. Errors continued to flow, including a love hold conceded in the fourth game, as double faults mounted and groundstrokes repeatedly sailed long, allowing Aunchisa to get a grip over the mach.

The home player raised hopes of a comeback when she managed to break Aunchisa in the seventh game, staying close at 3-4. Aunchisa saved two break points while serving for the match which ended when Vaishnavi netted a backhand.