Asian Games 2026: Indian tennis contingent returns without medal for first time in 40 years

India’s tennis campaign at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya ended without a medal for the first time since 1986 after top-ranked singles player Sumit Nagal suffered a quarterfinal defeat on Thursday.

Nagal, India’s last remaining medal hope, lost 4-6, 4-6 to China’s Yibing Wu in one hour and 38 minutes. His defeat brought the curtain down on a disappointing campaign in which India failed to continue its medal-winning streak at the continental event.

India had won at least one tennis medal in every Asian Games edition since 1990. The country had entered the Nagoya Games expecting at least three medals, particularly after a disappointing Davis Cup defeat to South Korea in Seoul.

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Nagal had reached the quarterfinals in Hangzhou in 2023 as well, while Ramkumar Ramanathan had exited in the third round. India’s last singles medals came at the 2018 Jakarta Games, where Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ankita Raina won bronze.

The doubles events also failed to produce a breakthrough. Yuki Bhambri and N Sriram Balaji were expected to carry forward India’s strong doubles tradition after Rohan Bopanna’s retirement. However, Balaji-Anirudh Chandrasekar and Bhambri-Dhakshineswar Suresh both lost in the quarterfinals.

Dhakshineswar also exited in the third round of the men’s singles.

India coach Ashutosh Singh acknowledged the disappointment while pointing to the quality of opposition and the need for better preparation.

“We obviously would have wanted stronger results, particularly given the quality and experience within the team.
The level of competition was extremely high. Sumit Nagal competed hard in his matches. He managed to create multiple opportunities but somehow was unable to convert them. DK has shown his playing level on the Tour but needs more work to sustain his short bursts into good performance.”

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Singh also said the team accepted responsibility for the outcome and that the campaign needed to be assessed beyond the final scores.

“As a team, we take responsibility for the results. There is no point in looking for excuses. At the same time, a proper assessment has to consider the conditions, scheduling, preparation and the quality of opposition. We cannot look only at the final scorelines when assessing the campaign.”

AITA interim Secretary General Sunder Iyer said the federation would need to provide greater support to players across levels.

“Players have tried to do their best. We reached three quarter-finals and were close to medals. As an association we need to see how to give more support to our players, juniors and professionals. This will enable them to do better in future competitions.”