Amid the ceremonial dhol encouraging the enthusiastic home crowd to test their vocal chords with ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ and ‘Jeetega bhai jeetega, India jeetega’ slogans, performed in absolute unison among the 1500 spectators that gathered on the wintry Saturday afternoon at the DLTA complex in New Delhi to catch India in Davis Cup World Group I play-off action, the visiting Togo team did not incur a complete hostile ambience on the sun-kissed Centre Court. Surprisingly, a tiny section of the Tologese crowd, nestled amid the home spectators, got behind the tourists with ‘Allez Togo!’ cheers.
After the Amritraj brothers previewed day 1 of the contest and shared some of their fond memories of playing the prestigious tournament, the Agnamba Ali-led side was ritually introduced to the spectators as they made their way into the crowd and an unexpected round of applause greeted the team. A group of 15-20 Togolese, holding their national flag, who had stationed themselves in the far right of the media box at the Centre Court, turned heads as they spurred the team on.
The group encouraged Liova Ayite Ajavon, ranked well outside the top 1500, in the opening tie as he took on 365th-ranked Sasikumar Mukund, fiercely responding to India’s customary slogans with ‘Allez Togo!’ cheers, but mostly through the little chances he created for himself in the contest.
However, the anticlimactic show from Togo silenced the Togolese.
The visiting team came into the draw with much promise, having punched above their weights in contests against Latvia and Indonesia last year, which saw them earn a promotion, thus bringing them more than 8,000 miles away from home to India. And the confidence was reflected in the pre-match presser as the captain and the players talked about their run of 10 wins in 11 Davis Cup ties since their return in 2022 after 19 years of hiatus.
“I started taking an interest in them after their recent performances. They weren’t even in the Davis Cup about 3-4 years ago. They earned a promotion to World Group I, which was impressive because they have defeated better-placed teams. Even though India seems very tough compared to all the teams they have been facing, we still hope for a miracle after what they have done,” said Yaovi Akakpo, a working professional based out of Gurgaon, who has spent over six years in India.
“My interest is mostly in football. Tennis is still building its place, and so is basketball. But this is a great step for Togo, who have been shining in this sport and the fact that they have come this far is something to be proud of, which is why we are here to support,” added 26-year-old Josué Avogan, a Masters in Computer Application student based out of Chandigarh, who happened to come across the Davis Cup contest on his visit to Delhi this weekend.
However, on Saturday, Togo lacked ammunition on the sluggish DLTA court. Even as Ajavon did offer a glimmer of hope to his supporters in his 2-6, 1-6 loss, Togo number one Thomas Setodji fell completely flat against Ramkumar Ramanathan, who hardly broke a sweat in his 6-0 6-2 win in the second singles, which wrapped up in just 50 minutes. The Togo crowd, who was quite vibrant during the opening contest, was silenced in the face of Setodji’s toothless show.
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