It is shocking the All India Tennis Association is running a malice campaign against Sumit Nagal and Yuki Bhambri, two players who have taken pride in representing the country as well as pursuing their professional careers. Since the time India were decimated in a Davis Cup away tie in Sweden over the weekend, there has been a sustained onslaught, first from non-playing captain Rohit Rajpal and then AITA secretary general Anil Dhupar.
First things first, Nagal did not make himself available for the Davis Cup tie as he had a back injury and was advised rest by the medical team. If the AITA has hit out at the singles player and said he does not want to represent the country, it is untrue. What all efforts Nagal made to make the Paris 2024 Olympics qualification cut is well known. He continued to play week after week, even after losing early at the French Open. As someone who brought joy to tennis fans by becoming the first Indian in a long time to break in to the Top 100 of the singles rankings in February 2024, Nagal was celebrated.
Even after he had made the cut for the Paris Olympics, his entry had to be sent by the AITA to the ITF. There was a delay in it, just as there was a delay in sending Rohan Bopanna’s entry with Sriram Balaji for doubles. This is about how efficiently the AITA works and believes players are there to be abused. Someone like Nagal has suffered immensely, financially and fitness-wise, after the Covid pandemic. He has played the Davis Cup and to back off from one tie on medical advice does not make him a villain.
If one reads his post on Twitter (X) on Thursday, it is clear, Sumit Nagal is in deep anguish. To allege he does not want to play for the country is factually wrong. If that be the case, he would not have made all the efforts to go to Paris 2024. To be sure, Nagal and Bhambri are at different phases of their tennis careers. Yuki Bhambri has played singles at a decent level in the past and now realises his body cannot cope with the rigours. So, he is a pure doubles specialist now on the ATP Tour. This is not the first time the AITA has targeted Nagal. He did not want to travel to Pakistan in February for the Davis Cup tie as he was unsure of doing well on grass. At least, he was honest.
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However, after Rajpal’s outburst, at first, where he asked the media to “shut up” after the loss in Sweden, to Anil Dhupar taking pot shots at players, everything is wrong vis a vis AITA’s relationship with players. There is a huge disconnect and for someone like Dhupar, who has been part of Indian tennis for more than three decades, he lacks sensitivity. Read Nagal’s post and it becomes clear he has accorded top priority to playing for India. If he is finally earning some money as a professional, he is still not happy with just that At the Paris 2024 Olympics, as he told RevSportz in July at the Roland Garros: “If I am simply making it to the Grand Slams and not winning at least three rounds, then it’s no use. I have to work towards becoming a better player,” he said.
If Nagal is so honest, why target him AITA? And to say Nagal was unfit for Davis Cup and is ready for the ATP Tour event is also factually wrong, He has spoken of how in professional tennis, “injury management is a complex science.” Nagal has also touched on the topic of compensation for playing in Davis Cup. There is nothing wrong in it. Players are professionals and the AITA gets enough money from the International Tennis Federation for Davis Cup ties.
Rewind to 1992/93, when India had its best-ever Davis Cup run with Late Naresh Kumar as non-playing captain. The kind of results which Ramesh Krishnan and Leander Paes produced at that time was defining. To have beaten France in Frejus on clay was a win which earned Naresh Kumar praise from the BBC as one of the “sharpest brains.” When India made it to the semi-finals of the Davis Cup in 1993 against Australia, Ramesh and Leander asked the AITA to pay them. At that time, too, the AITA leadership called the players “mercenaries.” Eventually, the AITA paid Ramesh and Leander Rs 20 lakhs each, but there was a 40 per cent tax deduction!
So, for all those who have witnessed AITA wanting to pocket all the Davis Cup money and do nothing for the sport, players like Sumit Nagal and Yuki Bhambri are soft targets. Hopefully, when the elections to the AITA take place in October 2024 and a new team takes over, there will be better days for the sport and the players. Right now, it is at the nadir. Sumit Nagal has support from many tennis fans and that matters more than anything else.