Now Reading: India call up 18-year-old Dhamne for Davis Cup clash in Seoul
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India call up 18-year-old Dhamne for Davis Cup clash in Seoul
India have handed 18-year-old Manas Dhamne his maiden Davis Cup call-up for the Qualifiers Round 2 tie against South Korea in Seoul on September 18-19. The teenager, ranked World No. 362, joins…
The Story in Brief
India have handed 18-year-old Manas Dhamne his maiden Davis Cup call-up for the Qualifiers Round 2 tie against South Korea in Seoul on September 18-19. The teenager, ranked World No. 362, joins Sumit Nagal, Dhakshineswar Suresh, Yuki Bhambri and N. Sriram Balaji in the squad. The winner of the hard-court contest at the Olympic Tennis Centre will earn a place in the Davis Cup Final 8 in November. India reached this round for the first time under the current format after a 3-2 upset of the Netherlands in February. South Korea also pulled off a shock 3-2 win over 2016 champions Argentina in Busan to set up the tie.
The Indian Opinion
India’s squad picks itself after the Netherlands heroics, but the hype around a young fifth-ranked singles player needs caution. Manas Dhamne’s talent is real, yet Korea’s home hard courts and Kwon Soonwoo’s military-seasoned form, they beat Argentina without him last time, make this a different beast. The real test: will captain Rajpal trust a teenager in a do-or-die rubber, or will he lean on Dhakshineswar again? The answer in Seoul will tell us if India’s bench is truly deep.
Sources (3): sports.ndtv.com, timesnownews.com, timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
