Tokyo Olympics: Sumit Nagal wins India’s first singles title since the 1996 Games
Sumit Nagal beat Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4 in his first match at the Olympic Games in Tokyo on Saturday. The match lasted 2 hours and 34 minutes, at the end of which the Nagual arranged a second-round match against Russian No. 2 Daniil Medvedev.
Nagal is the first Indian to win a singles match at the Olympics since Leander Paes won bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Nagal won the first set but the experienced Istomin bounced back by forcing a tie-break in the second set and taking the match into a third. Nagal, however, held his nerve in the third set and progressed to the next round.
Nagal qualified for the Olympics in men’s singles due to a series of withdrawals. He was ranked was ranked 144 on June 14, when ATP rankings were to be considered for direct entries.
