Sumit Nagal has realised confrontation with the All India Tennis Association is not going to be of any help. After his “refusal” to make himself available for the Davis Cup away tie against Pakistan in February, Nagal faced the wrath of the AITA when they failed to nominate him for a possible wild card at the Australian Open, to be held from January 14 to 28.
Now, Nagal has reopened his communication channel with the AITA. Speaking to RevSportz from Australia on Friday, Nagal said he “is in touch with the AITA.”
“I will be speaking to them next week,” said Nagal. He is aware 2024 is the year of the Paris Olympics and if he is to possibly get a shot at playing singles, then he will need the blessings of the AITA.
As per Nagal’s own admission, even for the Pak tie, there could be a rethink, if talks proceed on a good note. The big “if” is whether the Indian government will give clearance to the AITA to travel to Pakistan. The letter written to the Sports Ministry this week has noy yet received an approval. Given the political climate between India and Pakistan, any sporting visit across the border is unthinkable.
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The AITA is worried if the Indian team does not travel to Pakistan, there could be a heavy fine from the International Tennis Federation as well a further relegation. Fingers crossed, as of now.
Back to Nagal, he did extremely well in 2023 and again broke into the Top 150 in ATP rankings, courtesy a string of good Challenger title wins. When he left for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, Nagal was despondent as he had no sponsor. However, in the middle of the Asian Games, Gatorade came forward to support him.
“Yes, my communication channel is now open with the AITA now,” said Nagal, preferring diplomacy. He did not want to communicate further if he would have a rethink on the Pak Davis Cup tie
Asked about how he saw his chances of making the cut for the Olympics, Nagal was curt. “I am not worried about the Paris wild card. If I am playing good tennis and deserve to be there, I will make it,” said Nagal from Canberra, where he will be playing a Challenger event next week.
Whether Nagal will make the cut for the Australian Open is almost impossible, as of now. Nowadays, there are hardly any withdrawals from the top players. Cut off should be within 115.
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