Asian Games: Sumit Nagal Key as Yuki Bhambri’s injury clouds India’s tennis campaign

ByTech Word News

India’s tennis campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will look different from the one that produced two medals in Hangzhou. The seven-member contingent has experience in men’s singles and doubles, but India will have no women’s singles after five players were left out of the final squad following a series of selections.

The campaign was also clouded by uncertainty over Yuki Bhambri. India’s top doubles player has been ruled out of the Davis Cup tie against South Korea after suffering a thigh injury at the US Open. He had hoped to recover in time for the Asian Games, but his latest setback cast doubt on his participation in Japan. Bhambri is recovering from an injury, hence the uncertainty. (Photo: Reuters)

The 2026 Asian Games will be held from September 19 to October 4 and Sumit Nagal will lead India’s individual challenge along with Dhakshineswar Suresh. Bhambri, Sriram Balaji, Anirudh Chandrasekar, Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale form the doubles.

SUMIT NAGAL LEADS INDIA’S CHALLENGE

Nagal is India’s only player in men’s singles and remains the highest-ranked player in the country. The 29-year-old reached a career-high No. 68 in July 2024 and has regularly represented India in the Davis Cup since 2018.

Dhakshineswar Suresh is the other singles player in the team. He has a career-high ATP ranking of No. 462 in singles and No. 352 in doubles and has impressed in Davis Cup 2026. he won both of his singles matches against the Netherlands.

Bhambri is the team’s most successful doubles player, reaching a career-high No. 18 in February 2026. He was to partner Suresh, with Chandrasekar and Balaji forming the other men’s doubles pair.

His injury has now called that combination into question. Davis Cup captain Rohit Rajpal has confirmed that Bhambri will miss the match against South Korea, making his participation in the Asian Games uncertain.

Balaji reached a career-high No. 60 in doubles in 2025, while Chandrasekar also established himself on the circuit, spending time in the ATP top 100 this season.

Raina and Bhosale will team up in the women’s doubles. Raina has a career-high doubles ranking of No.93, while Bhosale returns to the Asian Games as the reigning mixed doubles champion, winning gold with Rohan Bopanna in Hangzhou.

INDIA’S ASIAN GAMES RECORD

Tennis has been part of the Asian Games since 1958, with India winning its first medal in the sport in 1966. Since then, the country has collected 34 tennis medals — 10 gold, seven silver and 17 bronze.

India added two medals in Hangzhou in 2023. Bopanna and Bhosale won gold in the mixed doubles, while Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan took silver in the men’s doubles. Nagal and Ankita Raina reached the singles quarterfinals.

Doubles success is a strong benchmark for Aichi-Nagoya’s campaign, although Bhambri’s fitness could have a significant impact on the men’s doubles combinations.

SELECTION CONTROL

Another important point of discussion was the selection of the Indian team. The AITA had originally proposed a 12-member contingent, but the latest government-sanctioned team was reduced to seven, leaving out Manas Dhamne, Vaishnavi Adkar, Sahaja Yamalapalli, Vaidehee Chaudhari and Prarthana Thombare.

Yamalapalli was India’s No. 1 singles player at the time and was ranked 344th in the WTA rankings, while Adkar was also among the top singles players in the country. Their disqualification means that India will have no representative in the women’s singles draw.

The Sports Ministry’s selection framework, introduced in 2025, favors athletes believed to have a real medal opportunity in multi-sport events. An SAI source said that the five banned players did not meet the prescribed criteria for the continental rating. The AITA disputed the account and asked the Indian Olympic Association to reconsider the ban.

Bopanna, a two-time Asian Games gold medallist, also questioned the changes and focused on the selection issue ahead of the Games.

TWINS REMAIN FOCUS OF INDIA’S CAMPAIGN

The Indian doubles team brings considerable experience from international and Asian games. Balaji and Chandrasekar provide depth to the men’s moves, while Raina and Bhosale form an experienced women’s pair.

Bhosale’s return as the reigning Asian Games champion adds more interest to the women’s doubles. For men, however, Bhambri status remains a key issue.

Nagal will shoulder the challenge for the singles, while the absence of the women’s singles leaves India’s campaign heavily dependent on its doubles contingent. With Bhambri’s recovery still uncertain, the final shape of India’s tennis challenge will only become clearer after the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

INDIAN TENNIS SQUAD FOR ASIAN GAMES 2026

Men’s singles: Sumit Nagal

DoublesCast: Yuki Bhambri, N Sriram Balaji, Anirudh Chandrasekar, Dhakshineswar Suresh

Women’s

DoublesStarring: Rutuja Bhosale, Ankita Raina

INDIAN TENNIS MEDALISTS AT THE ASIAN GAMES

1966 – Bangkok, Thailand

1978 – Bangkok, Thailand

1982 – New Delhi, India

1990 – Beijing, China

1994 – Hiroshima, Japan

  • Gold: Leander Paes & Gaurav Natekar — Men’s Doubles

  • Gold: Leander Paes, Gaurav Natekar, Zeeshan Ali & Asif Ismail — Men’s Team

  • Bronze: Leander Paes — Men’s Singles

1998 – Bangkok, Thailand

  • Bronze: Mahesh Bhupathi — Men’s Singles

  • Bronze: Srinath Prahlad — Men’s Singles

  • Bronze: Mahesh Bhupathi, Syed Fazaluddin, Nitin Kirtane & Srinath Prahlad — Men’s Team

  • Bronze: Mahesh Bhupathi & Nirupama Vaidyanathan — Mixed Doubles

2002 – Busan, South Korea

  • Gold: Leander Paes & Mahesh Bhupathi — Men’s Doubles

  • Silver: Mahesh Bhupathi & Manisha Malhotra — Mixed Doubles

  • Bronze: Vishal Uppal & Mustafa Ghouse — Men’s Doubles

  • Bronze: Leander Paes & Sania Mirza — Mixed Doubles

2006 – Doha, Qatar

  • Gold: Leander Paes & Mahesh Bhupathi — Men’s Doubles

  • Gold: Leander Paes & Sania Mirza — Mixed Doubles

  • Silver: Ankita Bhambri, Isha Lakhani, Sania Mirza & Shikha Uberoi – Women’s Team

2010 – Guangzhou, China

  • Gold: Somdev Devvarman — Men’s Singles

  • Gold: Somdev Devvarman & Sanam Singh — Men’s Doubles

  • Silver: Sania Mirza & Vishnu Vardhan — Mixed Doubles

  • Bronze: Somdev Devvarman, Karan Rastogi, Sanam Singh & Vishnu Vardhan – Men’s Team

  • Bronze: Sania Mirza — Women’s Singles

2014 – Incheon, South Korea

  • Gold: Sania Mirza & Saketh Myneni — Mixed Doubles

  • Silver: Saketh Myneni & Sanam Singh — Men’s Doubles

  • Bronze: Yuki Bhambri & Divij Sharan — Men’s Doubles

  • Bronze: Sania Mirza & Prarthana Thombare — Women’s Doubles

  • Bronze: Yuki Bhambri — Men’s Singles

2018 — Jakarta/Palembang, Indonesia

  • Gold: Rohan Bopanna & Divij Sharan — Men’s Doubles

  • Bronze: Prajnesh Gunneswaran — Men’s Singles

  • Bronze: Ankita Raina — Women’s Singles

2022 Asian Games – Hangzhou, China

TENNIS PROGRAM FOR THE 2026 ASIAN GAMES

September 27 to 30

  • Men’s singles – preliminary rounds

  • Men’s doubles – preliminary rounds

  • Women’s doubles – preliminary rounds

October 1, Thursday

  • Men’s Singles – Quarterfinals

  • Men’s Doubles – Quarterfinals

  • Women’s doubles – quarterfinals

October 2, Friday

  • Men’s Singles – Semifinals

  • Men’s doubles – semi-finals

  • Women’s doubles – semi-finals

October 3, Saturday

  • Men’s Singles – Final

  • Men’s Doubles – Final

  • Women’s Doubles – Final

– The end

Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

18 Sep 2026 09:42 IST