Asian Games 2026: AITA Questions Exclusion of Five Indian Tennis Players

The controversy over India’s tennis squad for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, has deepened into a dispute between the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI), with conflicting accounts over how five players were left out. While an SAI source said the players were not part of AITA’s long list because they failed prescribed continental ranking criteria, AITA has rejected the claim, saying it formally sought their inclusion from the IOA.

The five excluded players are Manas Dhamne, Vaishnavi Adkar, Sahaja Yamalapalli, Vaidehee Chaudhari and Prarthana Thombare. Their omission reduced AITA’s proposed 12-member squad to seven. The final team comprises Sumit Nagal, Yuki Bhambri, Dhakshineswar Suresh, Anirudh Chandrasekar, N Sriram Balaji, Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale, leaving India without a women’s singles representative.

The Sports Ministry’s September 2025 selection framework requires singles players to rank within Asia’s top six and doubles teams within the top eight over a 12-month assessment period. Officials say the criteria protect administrative consistency and medal prospects, while international exposure should come through ITF and Challenger events. The policy does allow limited exceptions based on expert justification.

AITA, however, says it sent a July 3 representation to IOA CEO Raghuram Iyer seeking reconsideration. Yamalapalli, India’s No. 1 women’s singles player at world No. 344, and Adkar, ranked No. 388, are among those excluded. Dhamne, 18, is a Challenger finalist; Chaudhari is a two-time national champion and Thombare a 2014 Asian Games bronze-medallist.

Rohan Bopanna, a two-time Asian Games gold-medallist, criticised the decision, arguing that sporting opportunities should not be determined solely in boardrooms. The row also highlights India’s broader dilemma between immediate medal probability and long-term athlete development. Tennis has been allocated ₹10.05 crore under the 2026-27 ACTC, including over ₹2 crore for overseas training and competition.