What went wrong for Indian tennis at Asian Games 2026?
(Courtesy : TennisKarnataka/X)
India failed to win a tennis medal for the first time since the 1986 Games.
Sumit Nagal walked off the court in Aichi-Nagoya on Thursday knowing exactly what the scoreboard meant.
He had just lost 6-4, 6-4 to China’s Wu Yibing in the men’s singles quarter-finals, and he was the last Indian tennis player standing. With that defeat, India’s tennis campaign at the Asian Games 2026 ended without a single medal. It is the first time that has happened since 1986.
For a country that has long counted on tennis to reach the podium at the Asian Games, it was a jolt. India bagged 34 medals in the sport (10 gold, 7 silver, 17 bronze), and at the 2022 Hangzhou Games, it came home with a gold and a silver.
So how does a team go from that to nothing? Let’s find out.
Three chances, one hurdle
Catch Every Update, Anytime, Anywhere
India reached the quarterfinals in three events. That is, two men’s doubles pairs and one mixed doubles pair. That is the stage where a single win guarantees a medal, but all three lost.
When the last doubles team was out, Nagal was left alone in singles, carrying the whole campaign on his shoulders.
Two points, twice
The doubles defeats were painfully close. Bhambri and Suresh lost 7-6(5), 6-3 after a first-set tiebreak slipped away by two points.
Top seeds Chandrasekar and Balaji lost a deciding tiebreak 10-8, again by two points. Only the mixed pair of Bhambri and Bhosale, seeded second, were clearly beaten, 6-3, 6-4. In a sport where a tiebreak can turn on one nervous shot, India lost the big moments both times.
A 28-year streak comes to an end
The last time India left an Asian Games without a men’s doubles medal was 1998. Since then, they have won medals in six consecutive Games from 2002 to 2022, including four gold and two silver. This run ended this week.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi started it, and subsequent generations carried it forward. With the mixed doubles exit as well, India finished without a medal in any doubles event
Singles was always a steep climb
Nagal began the tournament ranked No. 249 in the World. Wu is No. 111 and has been as high as No. 54. They had met once before, in 2024, and Wu won 6-3, 6-3.
Nagal looked strong beating Uzbekistan’s Sergey Fomin 6-3, 6-2 in the previous round, but no other Indian singles player was left behind him, and the better-ranked man won in straight sets.
Who ended India’s last medal hope in tennis at the Asian Games 2026?
China’s Wu Yibing, ranked No. 111, beat Sumit Nagal (No. 249) 6-4, 6-4 in the men’s singles quarterfinals in Aichi-Nagoya. It was India’s last chance for a tennis medal.
How many tennis medals has India won in Asian Games history?
India has won 34 tennis medals at the Asian Games: 10 gold, 7 silver and 17 bronze. The 2026 campaign is the first without a medal since 1986.
For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram