‘I feel like I am lacking support’ – India Tennis player Sumit Nagal expresses his disappointment over lack of sponsorship
Sumit Nagal has been one of the top athletes in Indian Tennis in the last few years. Though Nagal has not got enough encouragement from the board, he has continued to represent India at the top level. The Indian men’s singles player has been consistently taking part in different events. However, the lack of sponsorship has been a huge problem for the Indian athlete.
Nagal opened up about the same and expressed his disappointment. “If I look at my bank balance, I have what I had at the beginning of the year. It is 900 euros (approx. Rs 80,000). I did get a bit of help. Mr Prashant Sutar is helping me with MAHA Tennis Foundation, and I also get monthly (salary) from IOCL, but I don’t have any big sponsor,” said Nagal in an interview.
Nagal said that he invested everything he had in his Tennis career and has less balance in his account currently. “I am investing whatever I am making. The yearly cost when I travel with one coach is costing me around 80 lakhs to 1 crore and that is just with one traveling coach (no physio). Whatever I have made I have already invested,” added Nagal.
I felt when my ranking dropped after injury, no one wanted to help me – Sumit Nagal
Nagal felt that he was neglected by the Tennis Association. “I feel like I am lacking support despite being India’s number-one player for the past few years. I am the only player to qualify for Grand Slams, the only player to win a (tennis) match at the Olympics (Tokyo) in the last few years, and still, the government has not added my name to the TOPS,” said the Indian athlete.
“I felt when my ranking dropped after injury, no one wanted to help me, no one really believed that I could be back. That was disappointing because I feel whatever I do is not enough. It’s so hard to find financial support in India. To be honest I do not know what to do, I have given up,” concluded a disappointed Nagal.
