Asian Games 2023: Top seeds Rohan Bopanna-Yuki Bhambri get first-round bye, Sumit Nagal seeded fifth in singles

The tennis draw for Asian Games was announced on September 22.

Tennis draws for singles, doubles and mixed doubles were all revealed on September 22 (Friday) for the Asian Games 2023. Rohan Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri will enter the main draw as the top seeded men's doubles pair while Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale will be seeded second in mixed doubles. Fellow Indian pair Ankita Raina and Yuki Bhambri are the top seeds.

Bopanna, who reached the US Open doubles final earlier this month, will defend his title in men's doubles. He had won gold with then partner Divij Sharan in 2018 edition of the Asian Games. He and Bhambri have received a bye in the opening round.

India's number one in singles, Sumit Nagal is seeded fifth at the Asian Games 2023. Along with Nagal, who is the 11th best player in Asia, WR-569 Ramkumar Ramanathan, who is currently on a 7-20 win-loss record with a surprising 13-match losing streak is the other Indian in the draw. Both the players have received a first-round bye being fifth and sixteenth seeds, respectively.

Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale are India's representatives in women's singles with the former seeded third and Rutuja a 13th seed.

In men's doubles, apart from Bopanna-Bhambri, Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni are the other participants. They are seeded second and will face Nepal duo Abhishek Bastola/Pradip Kadhka in the first round.

Ankita Raina will pair-up with Prarthana Thombare in women's doubles, as the third seeds. Rutuja Bhosale/Karman Kaur Thandi are the other Indian pair in women's doubles. The unseeded Indian duo will begin again Zhanel Rustemova/Aruzhan Sagandikova of Kazakhstan. If they win, they will face fifth seeds, who got an opening round bye.

In mixed doubles, the duo of Raina-Bhambri and Bopanna-Bhosale have received a first-round byes being the top two seeds. 

The tennis tournament at the Asian Games 2023 is all set to begin on September 24 and will run until September 30 at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Tennis Centre. With the exception of the 1970 edition, tennis has been a regular feature in the Asian Games since 1958. India has taken home 32 medals, including nine gold, six silver, and 17 bronze.