CHENNAI: The story of an Indian athlete doing wonders in the junior category and underperforming, later on, is very common. Sumit Nagal’s tale is no different. In 2015, he was dubbed as the next big thing in Indian tennis when he won the Wimbledon boys’ doubles title. Last year, he made his debut in the Davis Cup against Spain. But his career has been on the downward curve ever since.
While injuries played a part in the slump, his attitude and discipline cost him a place in the Davis Cup squad that won against New Zealand in February. On Friday, he eased past Netherland’s Colin Van Beem 6-3, 6-0 to clinch the 8th MCC SR Subramaniam Memorial ITF Futures Men’s Tennis Championship at the Madras Cricket Club.
Confident after this success, the 20-year-old is all geared up for another round of Futures in Chennai. “Right now, my aim is to get more points. No 262 is my highest-ever ranking. I need to get to 230 in order to be eligible for the Australian Open. These tournaments will help me achieve that,” Sumit told Express. While the national team is getting ready to take on Canada in the Davis Cup, Sumit is preparing for something very different.
Along with Vishnu Vardhan, Vijay Sundar Prashanth and Sidharth Rawat, he will be in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, taking part in the fifth Indoor Asian Games. However, Sumit is not dejected. “It has been a mixed year for me. I am gutted that I did not make the team. But in Turkmenistan, I will still be representing the country,” he said.
“I won’t be able to take part in the Futures in Coimbatore in the coming days because of this. Right now, a national camp is going on in Delhi. But I have taken permission from AITA to stay and play here so that I can achieve my target ( Australian Open).”
Training under Mariano Delfino in the famed Schuttler Waske Tennis Academy in Frankfurt, Germany, Sumit believes that it is only a matter of time before he gets back to his best. While his singles rankings has improved, Sumit is not sure if he will play singles or doubles in Turkmenistan. “No details are out yet. We will only come to know about that once we reach there,” he concluded.
vimalsankar.tn@newindianexpress.com