Asian Games 2023 Indian Tennis: History, Preview, Squad, Medal Chances & More

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Asian Games 2023 is knocking on the door and about to kick start on Saturday (September 23) in Hangzhou, China. The tennis events will start on September 24 and run till September 30.

Here's looking at India's previous performances in the Asian Games, their current squad, medal chances, and the major miss.

History: Indian tennis in the Asian Games

Tennis has been a part of the Asian Games since the 1958 Tokyo edition and India have had a great run since then. India opened their medal account in the 1966 Thailand Asian Games as Shiv Prakash Mishra and Vinay Dhawan won bronze for the country in the men's doubles category.

India have clinched a total of 32 medals at the Asian Games in tennis which include 9 gold, 6 silver, and 17 bronze medals. They are the fifth most successful tennis team in the Asian Games.

India's most successful outing in the Asian Games came in 2010 which coincidently was also held in China. India won five medals in that edition where Somdev Devvarman grabbed two golds, one in singles and one in doubles.

In the last edition of the Asian Games in Indonesia (2018), India won one gold and two bronzes. Rohan Bopanna paired with Divij Sharan to win the gold in doubles and Ankita Raina won a bronze, becoming only the second Indian woman after Sania Mirza to win a medal in singles in Asian Games.

Indian squad

Men's team: Rohan Bopanna, Sumit Nagal, Yuki Bhambri, Saketh Myneni, Ramkumar Ramanathan, and Rohit Rajpal (non-playing captain)

Women's team: Ankita Raina, Rutuja Bhosle, Karman Kaur Thandi, Prarthana Thombare, and Ankita Bhambri (non-playing captain)

Further bifurcation of the squad

Men's Singles: Sumit Nagal
Men's Doubles: Rohan Bopanna, Yuki Bhambri, Saketh Myneni, Ramkumar Ramanathan
Women's Singles: Ankita Raina, Karman Kaur Thandi
Women's Doubles: Prarthana Thombare, Rutuja Bhosale
Mixed Doubles: Sumit Nagal, Rohan Bopanna, Ankita Raina, Karman Thandi

India's hopes with Bopanna, Ankita, and Sumit

India's campaign in men's tennis will be led by Rohan Bopanna and in women's tennis by Ankita Raina.

Rohan Bopanna has been in great form recently and has had a terrific year, so far. Apart from entering the top 10 ATP doubles ranking, he also managed to win two ATP titles (Indian Wells and Doha Open) this year.

However, his greatest feat in 2023 came when he reached the finals of the US Open with his Australian partner Matthew Ebden. He became the oldest men's tennis player in the open era to reach a Grand Slam final. Bopanna is also the defending Asian Games doubles champion. He is India's biggest hope to repeat the triumph once again this year.

Sumit Nagal is the top-ranked Indian men's tennis player at the moment. He is the only Indian men's singles player in the championships and is considered to be one of the best tennis players in Asia. Nagal is supposed to bring at least a bronze medal to the country.

Nagal has won two challenger titles this year (Rome and Tampere). He also has been phenomenal in the ongoing Davis Cup. However, Ngala recently made it to the headlines when he said that he isn't living a very happy life and has only 900 euros remaining in his bank account.

Ankita Raina won a bronze, in the last edition of the Asian Games in 2018. She will be looking to repeat her performance and bring a medal to the country this year as well. She is India's top-ranked women's tennis player in both singles (184) and doubles (150) category.

Other hopes

Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni are both seasonal campaigners. Myneni has previously won a silver medal with Sanam Singh in men's doubles in the 2014 edition and a gold with Saniya Mirza in mixed doubles (2014).

Bhambri also knows the taste of victory at the Asian Games. He won a bronze in men's doubles with Divij Sharan and another bronze in the singles category in the Asian Games 2014.

The 228th-ranked Thandi recently reached the finals of the ITF W60 event in Sumter, USA. Prarthana Thombare won the bronze medal in the 2014 Asian Games in women's doubles. It will be interesting to see how these two pair up for the event, this time around.

Saniya Mirza will be missed

One of the best Indian tennis players to have ever held the racket and arguably the biggest tennis inspiration that this country has ever seen, Saniya Mirza took retirement from professional tennis, earlier this year. Saniya has been one of the most successful tennis players in Asian Games history. She has won eight medals in the championships which includes two golds, three silvers, and three bronzes. India will definitely miss her services in the coming Asian games.