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Five Indian tennis players, including top-ranked women, were denied a chance to compete by a committee, sparking debate on merit versus pre-approval in sports.
Rohan Bopanna has questioned the selection process. (PTI Photo)
Rohan Bopanna has criticised the Sports Ministry after it pruned the Indian tennis squad for the upcoming Asian Games 2026 in Japan from 12 players to seven. As a result, some of the country’s top female tennis players, including Sahaja Yamalapalli, Vaishnavi Adkar and Vaidehee Chaudhari, have been excluded from the continental event, which begins on September 17.
Prarthana Thombare and Manas Dhamne have also been omitted.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) had proposed a 12-member squad that included six female players. In the final list, only two women – Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale -have been retained.
In a post on LinkedIn, Bopanna, who won two major titles during his playing career, questioned why players who earned the right to make the cut have been denied the chance to represent India at the Asian Games.
“Five players – including India’s No. 1 and No. 2 in women’s singles, who earned their rankings the hard way. No shortcuts. No favors. They competed internationally, qualified and proved where they stand,” Bopanna wrote.
“Now a committee that never stood where they stood has decided their fate on paper, before a ball is struck. If outcomes are already decided, why have qualification at all? Why rankings?” he added.
Here is his full post:
I’m a proud Indian. And today, I want to speak up for these tennis players who deserve better.
They didn’t ask for mercy. They asked for a chance.
Dhamne. Adkar. Yamalapalli. Vaidehee. Thombare.
Five players – including India’s No. 1 and No. 2 in women’s singles, who earned their rankings the hard way. No shortcuts. No favors. They competed internationally, qualified and proved where they stand.
Now a committee that never stood where they stood has decided their fate on paper, before a ball is struck.
If outcomes are already decided, why have qualification at all? Why rankings?
This isn’t just a call about five athletes. It’s a message to every parent, every sponsor who backed them before the country did, who bet on merit and results, not on being pre approved. Telling these players they’re “not medal prospects” tells every one of those parent & sponsors: your judgment doesn’t matter here.
Sport is the one arena where belief outruns prediction, where the written off rewrite the script. You don’t build a sporting nation, or a sporting economy, by deciding in a boardroom who’s allowed to compete.
Let them walk onto the court. Let their years of work count for something.
Let sport decide. Not a spreadsheet.
Key Questions Answered
Ask News18The Sports Ministry has not indicated that it will reconsider its decision regarding the Asian Games squad cuts. The ministry approved a 492-strong contingent of athletes for the games on August 22, and the Sports Minister has stated that the Asian Games are not an “exposure trip” and the focus is on medal prospects.
Ask News18About the Author
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience …Read More
August 24, 2026, 4:06 PM IST
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