Davis Cup: Korea beats India 3-1, ends dream of last-8 finish

India narrowly missed out on making history in the new format of the Davis Cup. In the Qualifier Round 2 tie played in Seoul on Saturday, Korea beat India 3-1. With this, India's dream of becoming the first Asian country to reach the last eight was left unfulfilled.

After beating the Netherlands earlier this year, India had a chance to make history. But losing both opening singles matches put the team in trouble. India staged a brief fightback with a strong performance in the doubles, but Korea sealed the tie by winning the fourth match.

The pair of Dhakshineswar Suresh and N. Sriram Balaji kept India's hopes of victory alive by beating the Korean pair 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. After losing the second set, the Indian pair fought back strongly. Staying composed in a closely contested decider, they won a crucial break point that gave them the chance to serve for the match. After that, India needed to win both remaining singles matches to win the tie, and under that pressure Sumit Nagal appeared under strain for a while.

Korea's Sunwoo Kwon then put in a superb performance in the crucial singles match and gave Sumit Nagal no chance to get into the game. Kwon dominated from the start and won the first set 6-1. Nagal tried to take the second set, but the Korean player kept him under complete control. Kwon eventually won the set 6-2, earning the credit for taking Korea into the Davis Cup knockout round.

With this defeat, India's impressive Davis Cup run has come to an end. The chance to become the first Asian country to reach the last eight of the new format has slipped away. With this win, Korea has created new history in Asian tennis, becoming the first Asian country to reach the knockout round of the tournament.

India will now have to play Qualifier Round 1 in 2027. The tie in Seoul could also mark the end of Rohit Rajpal's tenure as captain, since his current contract runs until December 2026 and there has been no announcement yet of an extension.