Asian Games 2026: Nagal handed demanding tennis draw

Seventh seed Sumit Nagal has been handed a demanding route in the Asian Games 2026 men’s singles tennis draw, starting with a second-round meeting against South Korea’s Hong Seongchan in Nagoya. Fellow Indian Dhakshineswar Suresh, seeded 11th, also faces a difficult section that includes Chinese third seed Wu Yibing.

Nagal and Dhakshineswar have both received first-round byes, but their projected paths underline the quality of the field. Reaching the semifinals is required to assure a medal, placing significant importance on every match from their opening rounds onward.

Nagal’s route begins with Hong Seongchan

Nagal will begin his campaign against Hong Seongchan, who was part of the recent India-Korea Davis Cup tie. Hong is returning to competitive tennis after serving in the Korean Army and is described as a formidable opponent despite now being ranked below Nagal.

If Nagal wins his opener, he will face either Tajikistan’s Somon Amonov or Uzbekistan’s ninth seed Sergey Fomin in the third round. His quarter of the draw then becomes more difficult, with Wu Yibing and Japan’s eighth seed Hayato Matsuoka among the leading players in that section.

Wu, ranked 113, is the highest-ranked player in Nagal’s quarter. A potential route to the medal rounds for the Indian could therefore require victories over Hong in the second round, Amonov or Fomin in the third round, and then Wu or Matsuoka in the quarterfinals.

The men’s singles field is led by Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong. Kazakhstan’s Aleksandr Shevchenko, Wu and South Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon complete the top four seeds. Kwon, ranked 158, has also received a bye and will open against Mongolia’s Undrakh Purevdorj.

Dhakshineswar placed in Wu’s half

Dhakshineswar will open against Indonesia’s Muhammad Trismuwantara after his first-round bye. A victory would send him into a third-round contest against either Tajikistan’s Anvar Rakhmatov or sixth seed Chun-Hsin Tseng of Chinese Taipei.

Uzbekistan’s 14th seed Khumoyun Sultanov is a possible quarterfinal opponent for Dhakshineswar. The Indian’s half also contains Wu, making his route to the last four similarly challenging.

India have no players in the women’s singles main draw. The women’s field is headed by Philippines top seed Alexandra Eala and China’s second seed Zhang Shuai, while Yuliya Putintseva and Wang Xiyu are also among the top seeds.

Indian doubles teams carry strong seeding

India’s strongest prospects are in the men’s doubles, where N Sriram Balaji and left-handed Anirudh Chandrasekar are the top seeds. Yuki Bhambri and Dhakshineswar are seeded fifth, and the draw leaves the two Indian pairs on course to meet in the final.

Bhambri missed the Davis Cup tie against Korea due to injury, but physio Anand Kumar told PTI that work had been done on his quadriceps tendon and that he was feeling better and ready to play.

In the women’s doubles, eighth seeds Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale open against Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva and Anna Danilina. Bhambri and Bhosale are seeded second in mixed doubles and received a first-round bye, while Balaji and Raina are the other Indian pair and are seeded fourth.

India men’s coach Ashutosh Singh said the team had been practising in Nagoya following the Korea Davis Cup tie, with a focus on acclimatisation and doubles and mixed-doubles combinations. The singles competitions run from September 27 to October 3 at Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.