New Delhi, June 22: India’s top-ranked Tennis player Sumit Nagal has officially confirmed his participation in 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 Sumit Nagal on X (formerly known as Twitter)
This will be Sumit’s second appearance at the Olympics 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 against 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 up to 71, which is the joint-fourth highest ranking achieved by an Indian men’s player since the introduction of the computerized 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 at the hands of Karen Khachnov, Nagal went on to win the Heilbronn Challenger in Germany before just missing out on a consecutive title win at Perugia challenger in Italy as he lost to Luciano Darderi ( 6-1, 6-2) in the finals of the tournament.
It is important to note all three tournaments were played on clay courts in Sumit’s attempt to prepare for the upcoming Olympics which will also be played at Roland-Garros, the mecca of clay courts. 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.
