NEW DELHI: In June earlier this year, Manas Dhamne and Vaishnavi Adkar were among the four tennis players roped into the government’s Target Asian Games Group (TAGG). The objective of the scheme was to fund the athletes in their bid to bring laurels for the country at the Asian Games, which will be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, this year. Instead, on Saturday, as the 492-member contingent for the continental event was approved by the Sports Ministry, neither found their name on the list.The Sports Ministry pruned the 12 names recommended by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) to seven, with Dhamne, Adkar, Sahaja Yamalapalli, Vaidehee Chaudhari and Prarthana Thombare missing the cut.As a result, India does not have any representation in women’s singles and has just one option in men’s singles (Sumit Nagal) and women’s doubles (Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale).
We are preparing them for 2030, 2032 and 2036. These are the players who will represent India at that time. They will be in their peak. So giving them exposure at the big stage is important.
AITA Source
“It would have been a great exposure for these kids… for big-ticket events later on. Because we are looking at these kids to lead India in the years to come. We feel that sending these youngsters gives them big exposure.“We are preparing them for 2030, 2032 and 2036. These are the players who will represent India at that time. They will be in their peak. So giving them exposure at the big stage is important,” said a source within AITA who wished not to be named.
Rohan Bopanna LinkedIn post
Their absence also did not sit well with two-time Asian Games gold medallist Rohan Bopanna.“Five players, including India’s No. 1 [Sumit Nagal] and No. 2 [Yamalapalli] in women’s singles, earned their rankings the hard way. No shortcuts. No favours. They competed internationally, qualified and proved where they stand,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post.“Now a committee that never stood where they stood has decided their fate on paper, before a ball is struck. If outcomes are already decided, why have qualification at all? Why rankings?,” he continued.“You don’t build a sporting nation, or a sporting economy, by deciding in a boardroom who’s allowed to compete. Let them walk onto the court. Let their years of work count for something,” he further added.
Sports Ministry not to change selection criteria
While few changes could be made and approvals are awaited by the Olympic Council of Asia, the Sports Ministry is not expected to budge on its athlete selection, which is based on the policy created in 2025.As per the latest selection criteria, the Ministry has made it clear that only those with a “realistic chance of winning a medal” would be considered for multi-sport events, including the Asian Games. This policy states that the top-six individual athletes in Asia and top-eight in team events would be considered for selection.
Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya speaks during BRICS Youth Ministers’ Meeting, in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. (@mansukhmandviya X/ANI Photo)
“A lot of pressure was there (on us). Some parents came and said that my child has not been selected. We told them if your child merits selection, there is no way that he or she will not be selected,” said a source within the Sports Ministry.“If somebody has to run 10 seconds to be a contender for a medal in the 100m event, should we send an athlete who runs 15 seconds? We have set the criteria that if an athlete is in the top six in Asia, we will select him or her, otherwise not,” they added.Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had asserted last month that the Asian Games must not be seen as exposure trips for athletes. Instead, only the best would be sent to Japan to represent the country.
Sumit Nagal will be India’s hope in the men’s singles in the Asian Games. (PTI Photo)
Precedent from 2023 Asian Games
There is a clause that could come to the aid of the five tennis players who have not made the cut.The Sports Ministry has a clause allowing for exceptions to its top-8/top-6 rule: “Where, in the opinion of the experts of specific sports disciplines, and that of Sports Authority of India, participation of individuals and teams in relaxation of the above criteria (top 8) is recommended with justifiable reasons, the same will be considered in the Ministry for appropriate decision.”This provision was used to allow the Indian men’s and women’s football teams to play at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Additionally, the same clause was applied in tennis, which barred T Mukund Sasikumar, Vaidehee Chaudhari and Yamalapalli from competing as the rest of the squad was believed to hold higher medal potential.India’s tennis squad for 2026 Asian GamesMen’s doubles: Yuki Bhambri, Dhakshineswar Suresh (Team 1), Anirudh Chandrasekar, Sri Ram Balaji (Team 2)Men’s singles: Sumit NagalWomen’s doubles: Ankita Raina, Rutuja Bhosale (Team 1)
