Yuki-Balaji, Nagal are good enough to win medals: Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza. Pic/Ashish Raje

[popcorn number="2" desc="No. of tennis medals won by India at the Asian Games in 2023 - a gold and a silver" class="Default"]

[popcorn number="7" desc="No. of members in India's tennis squad for the upcoming Asian Games" class="Default"]

Despite questions over the quality of Indian tennis on the global stage in recent times, former tennis ace Sania Mirza believes the squad for the Asian Games has enough depth to finish on the podium in more than one event.

India have fielded a seven-member squad for the continental showpiece in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4. Sumit Nagal will compete in the men's singles, while Yuki Bhambri, Dakshineswar Suresh, Anirudh Chandrasekar and N Sriram Balaji have been selected for the men's doubles. Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale are India's sole representatives in the women's doubles.

Mirza, 39, has high hopes for Bhambri and Balaji. "I don't know about matching last edition's medal tally [two medals in tennis], but I definitely think with Yuki and Balaji, we have a medal on our hands. What colour that medal will be, we're obviously hoping for gold. But do they have it in them to win that gold? I definitely think so," Mirza said during an interaction organised by Sony Sports Network on Tuesday.

"As far as singles is concerned, with Sumit being there and going by how well he has played in the past, I think that we have a chance for another medal in that men's category as well. So, we could come back with two or three medals," she added.

When mid-day asked how the tournament could boost Indian players' confidence ahead of the Grand Slams and other global events, Sania Mirza, an eight-time Asian Games medallist (two gold, three silver and three bronze), replied: "Asian Games is very emotionally driven. It's a very good platform because Asian tennis has been known to be pretty good. Asian Games is not something that's easy, it's not a small event. It's a huge deal. So, winning here, performing here, and I can say that from personal experience, gives you a lot of confidence. It gives you a lot of belief that if you're able to be the best in Asia, then you definitely can do it on the world stage as well."