1 week ago
SAI Defends Exclusion of Five Indian Tennis Players
Five Indian tennis players will not compete at the Asian Games.
Officials said they did not meet the required rankings for singles or doubles players in Asia.
They also said the players were not included on the tennis association’s recommended long list.
The rules were based on rankings during a 12-month period.
Officials said the players’ recent results did not show enough medal potential.
Tennis star Rohan Bopanna disagreed and said athletes should get the chance to compete.
The Sports Authority of India said international exposure should come through other tournaments, such as ITF and Challenger events.
India’s final squad includes one singles player and several players for doubles.
Manas Dhamne, Vaishnavi Adkar, Sahaja Yamalapalli, Vaidehee Chaudhari and Prarthana Thombare were left out of India’s Asian Games tennis squad.
A Sports Authority of India source said the five were absent from both the All India Tennis Association’s long list and the final list sent to the Indian Olympic Association.
The Sports Ministry’s criteria required singles players to rank among Asia’s top six and doubles players among the top eight over a 12-month evaluation period.
SAI said the players’ rankings and recent performances did not indicate sufficient medal potential, while Rohan Bopanna criticised the decision as contrary to developing Indian sport.
The final squad has Sumit Nagal as its only singles player, with Ramkumar Ramanathan, Saketh Myneni, Yuki Bhambri, Rutuja Bhosale and Ankita Raina forming the doubles teams.
- Who
- Five excluded Indian players—Manas Dhamne, Vaishnavi Adkar, Sahaja Yamalapalli, Vaidehee Chaudhari and Prarthana Thombare—as well as the Sports Authority of India and Rohan Bopanna.
- What
- The Sports Authority of India defended excluding the five players from India’s Asian Games tennis squad.
- Where
- The selection concerns India’s tennis team for the Asian Games and uses continental Asian rankings.
- When
- The decision and SAI’s defence were reported on August 25; the selection criteria were introduced in September of the previous year.
- Why
- SAI said the players did not meet the prescribed ranking criteria, were not on the relevant recommendation lists and lacked sufficient recent medal potential.
Critics of the exclusions
SAI and Sports Ministry position
Opportunity versus selection rules
Critics of the exclusions
Rohan Bopanna argued that athletes should not be denied the opportunity to compete based solely on a boardroom decision before competition begins.
SAI and Sports Ministry position
SAI said the players did not meet the prescribed continental ranking standards and that relaxing the rules could damage administrative integrity and lead to disputes from other national sports federations.
Role of the Asian Games
Critics of the exclusions
Bopanna said giving athletes opportunities to compete is part of building a sporting nation and sporting economy.
SAI and Sports Ministry position
SAI said exposure opportunities should come through ITF and Challenger circuits rather than the Asian Games.
Doubles preparedness
Critics of the exclusions
The potential partnership of Prarthana Thombare and Vaidehee Chaudhari could have provided them an opportunity to compete, according to the criticism of the omission.
SAI and Sports Ministry position
SAI questioned their readiness because the pair had never played together, raising concerns about their preparedness to form a competitive partnership.
Key facts
- Excluded players
- Manas Dhamne, Vaishnavi Adkar, Sahaja Yamalapalli, Vaidehee Chaudhari and Prarthana Thombare.
- Selection criteria
- Singles players had to be among Asia’s top six, while doubles players had to rank within Asia’s top eight over a 12-month evaluation window.
- Squad size
- The final Indian tennis squad has seven members.
- Singles representation
- Sumit Nagal is the only singles player in the final squad.
- Criticism
- Two-time Asian Games gold-medallist Rohan Bopanna criticised the exclusion and said it undermined the development of Indian sport.
- Tennis budget
- Tennis was allocated Rs 10.05 crore for the 2026-27 Annual Competition and Training Calendar, with more than Rs 2 crore earmarked for overseas training and competition.
- Doubles concern
- Prarthana Thombare and Vaidehee Chaudhari had potentially been expected to partner, but had not previously played together.
Quotes
SAI source
An unnamed Sports Authority of India source explaining the selection process
“Their names were not received by Sports Ministry in the final list shared by the IOA (Indian Olympic Association). In fact their names were not there in the long list sent by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) to the IOA.”
rediff.com
theprint.in
“Exposure trips belong on the ITF and Challenger circuits, not at the Asian Games.”
rediff.com
theprint.in
Rohan Bopanna
Two-time Asian Games gold-medallist and Indian tennis player
“You don’t build a sporting nation, or a sporting economy, by deciding in a boardroom who’s allowed to compete.”
theprint.in
“a committee that never stood where they stood has decided their fate on paper, before a ball is struck.”
rediff.com
Sources
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