TENNIS | Captain Uppal wants India to be ambitious and fearless

India skipper Vishal Uppal wants his players to instrumentality a fearless attack successful the Billie Jean King Cup playoffs which commences present connected Friday. 

The likes of Sahaja Yamalapalli, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, Ankita Raina and others volition look pugnacious contention from Slovenia and Netherlands, but Uppal places immense religion successful his crew. 

“We privation to instrumentality the tribunal with the close energy and instrumentality the combat to our opponents. Our opponents are overmuch higher ranked, but we similar the underdog story. I privation my squad to beryllium ambitious, beryllium fearless,” Uppal told The Hindu connected the sidelines of a grooming league astatine the S.M. Krishna Tennis Stadium here. 

Uppal was the skipper erstwhile India reached the playoffs for the precise archetypal time, successful 2020. To marque it this acold again successful a abbreviated play shows that Indian women’s tennis is connected the up and up, Uppal said. 

“It shows you that women’s tennis successful India is heading the close way. Now we request to get much ambitious to spell beyond the playoffs. It is precise important to proceed connected the travel to increasing the athletics successful India,” the erstwhile men’s nationalist champion and Davis Cup subordinate said. 

Uppal is not averse to making bold line-up changes, arsenic seen successful the erstwhile circular (Asia/Oceania Zone Group I). “I’m beauteous definite nary 1 successful Indian tennis would person imagined that Ankita volition not play a singles lucifer successful Pune.

“But I had travel up with this strategy aft I studied the opponents and match-ups. The bully happening was that the full squad was connected committee with the plan,” Uppal said.