A fearless Ankita Bhambri put India ahead before Mi-Ra Jeon downed Sania Mirza to help Korea level the scores 1-1 in the Fed Cup women's team tennis competition at the R K Khanna Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Ankita needed an hour and 53 minutes to defeat Kyung-Mi Chang but her domination was much more than the scoreline might indicate.
Sania, however, bowed to a superior opponent, going down to Mi-Ra Jeon 4-6, 2-6. Again, the verdict did not convey who was the better talented player but Jeon showed better understanding of the game.
The crucial doubles match was yet to begin.
New Zealand had taken an unbeatable 2-0 lead over Philippines as did Thailand against China while matches were still on in other courts.
India had beaten Chinese Taipei 3-0 on Monday.
Ankita once again stole the limelight from her more famous compatriot. The local lass displayed little of the rustiness that had affected her yesterday when she was playing after a two-month gap.
Korean captain Jin-Soo Lee opted play his fourth player Kyung as the number two and second best Jeon as the number one since his top ranked Yoon-Jeong Cho was unwell. With the top two ranked 205 and 230 respectively, and Kyung at 325 on the WTA list, Lee is expected to wrap up the tie by winning the singles matches.