New Delhi: Rising India tennis player Sumit Nagal has been hogging headlines for quite some time, thanks to his impressive performances at international tournaments. In his Grand Slam debut at the US Open, Nagal earned Swiss legend Roger Federer's praise taking a set off him. He followed it up with a final appearance in the Banja Luka ATP Challenger. In the recently concluded ATP Challenger Tournament in Buenos Aires, Nagal got better of Argentine Facundo Bognis.
Though his rise impressed Indian tennis fraternity back home, the 22-year-old admitted that people have been “walking away” when he has needed financial support.
Swiss tennis great Roger Federer terms Sumit Nagal a clay-court specialist. Sumit won the Buenos Aires Challenger on Sunday night and jumped to a career-best rank of 135. The 26-place jump has consolidated his status as India’s No. 2 singles player behind Prajnesh Gunneswaran, ranked 84. However, paucity of funds meant that he had by his side neither his coach nor his physio, who could help him recover from the gruelling matches on red dirt.
‘All alone’
“I was all alone here. No one was with me to help out. One way, it has been great that I have been playing good tennis but it’s not easy to do it and I’m really sad,” Nagal told PTI from Buenos Aires.
“The path is lonely despite doing well at the US Open. I qualified at 22 and led a set against Roger Federer but it still has not made impact anywhere. It’s really sad nobody is coming up to invest into tennis,” he added.
Nagal used to receive funds under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), but he was later dropped from the list of beneficiaries. The scheme offers a monthly financial aid of ₹50,000 to those considered medal prospects at the Olympics. As of now, only Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan, the doubles specialists, receive support through the scheme. None of India’s singles players figure in it.
‘Special talent’
Nagal not getting enough financial support is a failure of the system, according to Mahesh Bhupathi, the multiple Grand Slam champion. Bhupathi had mentored Nagal after having hand-picked him from a tennis clinic. “Sumit is obviously a special talent and it shows with what he has done in the last six months. When you see talent like him who are not nurtured and supported keeping in mind the coming Olympics or the next one, I consider it a colossal failure of the system,” Bhupathi said.
“Then no one has the right to ask later why India doesn’t produce champions,” he added.
Nagal received financial aid from the Virat Kohli foundation but it isn’t enough. “They are providing a good amount but as you can see in tennis you need a team like all the top 100 players have coach, fitness, physio, etc. which adds up,” said Bhupathi.
The estimated required annual budget for Nagal is around EUR 220,000 (₹1.5 crore).
Legendary Indian tennis player Leander Paes heaps praise on Sumit Nagal. Nagal is surprised that despite zooming up close to the top-100 in world rankings, support has not swelled enough. “I still have the exact budget which I had in 2018 when I was ranked 350. It’s that when I needed the most which is right now, I see people turning around and walking away.”
‘Only an athlete can understand talent’
Bhupathi is well-connected and has been trying hard to get sponsors on board. But with corporate support not coming, Nagal has decided to knock the doors of those who know something about creating champions. “Well, only an athlete can understand talent in my opinion. So now I am trying to route it through [P. Gopi Chand] and Malav and hopefully they can advise the best way forward,” he said.
According to Nagal, people only make promises but when the time comes, they look the other side. “I am still stuck. I have to find a way to get my coach on tour to help me. Most of the tournaments I did in summer was by myself. It’s funny how they say if you need any help let us know and when you actually ask them or write an email they don’t even bother replying to you,” he said.
