Sumit Nagal Creates History By Winning A Tennis Singles In Olympic After 25 Years
- ByAyushi Ray | July 24, 2021
Sumit Nagal creates history by winning a Tennis Singles in olympics after 25 years. After a nerve wrecking match of 2 hours and 34 minutes, Nagal did it. He broke India’s curse in the Tennis Singles Olympics. After 25 years, India got what it was wanting for a long time – a win in the Tennis Singles category in the Olympics . The last one was in 1996 Atlanta olympics, and the winner was Leandr Paes. Nagal, 23, wasn’t even born when Leander Paes went on to win bronze at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. Luck favoured Nagal from the very beginning of qualifying into the Olympics. He ranked 144 on the cut-off date (June 14), secured a berth only after a series of withdrawals. But when the current World No 160 stepped onto court 10 at the Ariake Tennis Centre to play an opponent who was once 33rd in the world, the youngster wasn’t quite out of place. He took it slowly and ultimately won it out.
Going back to the US Open in 2019, Nagal came through the qualification round to set up his first ever Grand Slam main draw match against the great Roger Federer. The clash was expected to have been a rout for the Swiss, but the youngster rallied well and took the first set. He eventually lost in four, but left the 20-time Grand Slam champion impressed. “He actually does a really good job, especially on the inside-out, how he gets around. That was impressive,” Federer said of the Jhajjar-lad at the time. Nagal has qualified into the second stage where the world no 2 Daniil Medvedev awaits him. India pins her hope on him, who knows he might just bring in a medal.
Follow Startup Story
Related Posts
