NEW DELHI: Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has lavished praise on tennis players Sumit Nagal and Prajnesh Gunneswaran who participated in the ongoing US Open.
On Monday, Nagal became the first tennis player to win a set in the first round of the US Open against Swiss legend Roger Federer since 2003. However, the 22-year-old from Jhajjar eventually lost the match 6-4, 1-6, 2-6, 4-6 in two hours and 30 minutes.
On the other hand, Prajnesh was knocked out of the competition after losing 4-6, 1-6, 2-6 to world No. 5 Daniil Medvedev.
"I am very happy to see two young tennis players Prajnesh and Sumit exceedingly displaying their talents in the US Open. I think they have a great future ahead," Rijiju said in a video posted on his official Twitter handle on Wednesday.
"I am very happy to see their performances in the US Open and this gives a lot of encouragement to the entire youth, especially in the tennis world. These are good signs for Indian sports," he added.
The Sports Minister also urged the two players to keep their focus and train harder.
Sumit had also earned praise from Federer who said that the 22-year-old will have a solid career in the future.
"I think he knows what he can bring. That's why I think he's going to have a very solid career. But, of course, it's not the game that comes out with the biggest surprises. It's really consistent. I think he did it very well tonight," Federer had said in the post-match interview.