A vastly improved Ranjeet went down fighting 4-6, 4-6, 2-6 in the must-win first match of the day to a higher ranked Suk-Young Jeong as South Korea took an unassailable 3-1 lead against India on the hardcourts of the R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium here. <img alt="" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2013/feb/Ranjeet-VM.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 511px;" /> Ranjeet VM In the fifth dead rubber, Vijayant, who conceded the singles Friday against Jeong due to cramps, lost 2-6, 4-6 against Ji Sung Nam as South Korea sailed into the second round where they will face Japan. India will now play the first round play-off, slated for April 5-7, against Indonesia, who were whitewashed by Japan. <img alt="" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2013/feb/Vijayant-Malik.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 437px;" /> Vijayant Malik For India, it was a disappointing loss as they had to field a depleted side after top players, led by Somdev Devvarman, made themselves unavailable for the tie over a charter of demands. Trailing 1-2, both Ranjeet and Vijayant had a mountain to climb to avoid India&rsquo;s loss. The sizeable crowd that had turned out here expecting a miracle, saw an inspired Ranjeet going down fighting. Having suffered a humiliating defeat in the first singles on Friday, Ranjeet, ranked 511, punched above his weight against the 321-ranked Jeong but still lost in an encounter that lasted two hours and 23 minutes. Inspired by Leander Paes and Purav Raja&rsquo;s doubles win on Saturday, Ranjeet was charged right from the start. But lack of maturity and experience at the top level made the difference.

India's Davis Cup campaign ended on a poor note as Ranjeet Virali Murugesan and Vijayant Malik lost their respective reverse singles matches giving South Korea a 4-1 win on the final day of their Group I Asia/Oceania first round tie here yesterday.

Davis Cup: Rookies fall short against South Korean might

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Davis Cup: Rookies fall short against South Korean might

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