Indiaโs tennis selection for the 2026 Asian Games has sparked controversy after the All India Tennis Association (AITA) clashed with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) over the final squad.
The selection of Indian athletes for the upcoming 2026 Asian Games at Aichi-Nagoya hit a new roadblock after India’s tennis contingent prompted a major selection controversy. The incident has created a dispute between the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) after five players were left out of the squad.
Last week, the Ministry of Sports announced a comprehensive 429-member Indian contingent for 35 disciplines. A perplexing situation arose after tennis’ final squad featured just seven players instead of a 12-member team proposed by the AITA.
India’s tennis squad featured stars such as Dakshineswar Suresh, Sumit Nagal, N Sriram Balaji, Yuki Bhambri, Ankita Raina, Anirudh Chandrasekar and Rutuja Bhosle.
Meanwhile, Manas Dhamne, Sahaja Yamalapalli, Vaidehee Chaudhari, Prarthana Thombare and Vaishnavi Adkar failed to make the cut for the 2026 Asian Games.
SAI, AITA at odds over selection row
According to PTI, SAI claimed that the five tennis players who missed out on the cut were not mentioned in the shortlist provided to the Indian Olympic Association by the AITA.
The Indian tennis body, however, claimed they had fought for their selection and that they made an ‘unequivocal representation’ to IOA CEO Raghuram Iyer and sought a review of the tennis players’ non-selection.
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“AITA stated that the matter was not merely about individual athletes but about ensuring that India fields its strongest possible tennis contingent.
“…any suggestion that the AITA did not provide names or did not seek the inclusion of its selected players is factually incorrect and contradicts the Association’s written representation to the IOA dated July 3, 2026,” AITA Secretary General Sunder Iyer said in a statement.
Why did the five tennis players miss out?
Tennis stars Dhamne, Adkar and others missed out on the Asian Games cut due to the new selection criteria, with the mandate unveiled by the Sports Ministry in September last year.
It required athletes to be among the top six in Asia for singles action. For doubles pairs, they needed to be ranked within the top eight in Asia over a 12-month evaluation window.
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The 2026 Asian Games will run from September 19 to October 4, 2026, at Aichi Nagoya.