Now Reading: India No.1 Vaishnavi Adkar left out of Asian Games squad
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India No.1 Vaishnavi Adkar left out of Asian Games squad
Vaishnavi Adkar, India's top-ranked women's singles tennis player, has been left out of the Asian Games squad despite a remarkable comeback from an ACL injury. The 21-year-old from Pune climbed from No.690…
Vaishnavi Adkar, India's top-ranked women's singles tennis player, has been left out of the Asian Games squad despite a remarkable comeback from an ACL injury. The 21-year-old from Pune climbed from No.690 to inside the world's top 400 this year, becoming India's highest-ranked women's singles player.
Adkar reached the final of the ITF W100 Bengaluru Open as a wildcard, becoming the first Indian woman since Sania Mirza in 2009 to reach a W100 final. She then won singles and doubles titles at the ITF W35 Kalaburagi Open, beating veteran Ankita Raina in the final. She also won bronze at the World University Games and made her Billie Jean King Cup debut.
The All India Tennis Association originally proposed a 12-member squad with six women, but the final list was reduced to seven players. Only Ankita Raina and Rutuja Bhosale were retained from the women's side. The Asian Games will be held in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 to October 4.
Indian Opinion Analysis
AITA's squad selection has been questioned before. In 2023, the association cut the tennis contingent for the Hangzhou Asian Games, dropping several players who had met the qualification criteria set by the sports ministry. The reduction appears to follow a similar pattern, where a ministry-imposed cap on contingent size forces AITA to choose among eligible players. For Adkar, who has no Asian Games or Olympics experience, the decision delays her chance to compete at a multi-sport event where India has historically won tennis medals. The next major opportunity for her will be the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, though she could still qualify for the Olympics through the WTA rankings.
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Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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