New Delhi: India’s top-ranked Tennis player Sumit Nagal has officially confirmed his participation for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Extremely glad to share that I have officially qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics. This is a monumental moment for me as the Olympics holds a special place in my heart! One of my career highlights so far was participating in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. And a big thanks to TOPS and SAI for extending help in the last few months,” read the statement by Nagal on X.
This will be Nagal's second appearance at the Games after he previously became the first Indian man since Leander Paes to win a singles match at the Tokyo Olympics. Nagal defeated Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin in the first round, but went on to lose to Russia's Daniil Medvedev in the second round.
Nagal’s meteoric rise over the past year has seen the 26-year-old’s ATP ranking jump to 71, which is the joint-fourth highest ranking achieved by an Indian men’s player since the introduction of the computerised system of rankings in 1973.
His recent impressive performances were the reason behind the massive jump in rankings.
After making his French Open debut at the Roland Garros in which he was eliminated in the first round by Karen Khachnov, Nagal went on to win the Heilbronn Challenger in Germany before missing out on a consecutive title win at Perugia challenger in Italy as he lost to Luciano Darderi 1-6, 2-6 in the final.
It is important to note all three tournaments were played on clay courts in Nagal's attempt to prepare for the upcoming Olympics which will also be played at Roland-Garros.
Before the Olympics, India’s highest-ranked star will be fully focussing on the Wimbledon that is scheduled to begin on July 1 where he will be entering the tournament as a part of the main draw for the very first time.
