Perfect stage for Indians to alter dismal record

Beginning 2019, within the 16 ATP Challenger tournaments which have been held in India, there has simply been one residence winner – Sumit Nagal in 2024 in Chennai.

On Monday, when the Dafa Information Bengaluru Open Challenger 125 will get underway on the S.M. Krishna Stadium inside Cubbon Park, Nagal and a bunch of Indians shall be hoping to barely alter this depressing file.

It is going to assist that this yr’s competitors, regardless of being within the second-highest tier of the Challenger Tour, has a low cut-off. The final direct acceptance into the singles major draw is Eric Vanshelboim at No. 472.

The Canberra Worldwide Challenger, being performed concurrently, has former World No. 4 and 2014 US Open finalist Kei Nishikori because the final man in at No. 158.

The geographical proximity of Canberra to the season’s first Main Australian Open maybe explains this gulf with Bengaluru, however the total area within the Backyard Metropolis is weaker in comparison with the earlier two editions as effectively.

In 2025, Blake Ellis at No. 300 was the ultimate direct entry whereas in 2024 it was Giovanni Fonio at 279.

However this shouldn’t be held in opposition to the occasion. Dwelling Challengers are hosted to assist native gamers, and shifting the competitors to an early January slot from its conventional post-Australian Open window has seemingly resulted in additional Indians entering into the principle draw.

When final yr’s four-Challenger swing started in February in Chennai, no Indian, barring Nagal at No. 105, was eligible and not using a wild card. This time in Bengaluru, other than Nagal, Aryan Shah and Karan Singh – each ranked within the 400s – are within the last 32 on benefit.

Dhakshineswar Suresh, Manas Dhamne and native lad S.D. Prajwal Dev are the three wildcards, and on Monday, Sidharth Rawat can doubtlessly be a part of his countrymen as a qualifier.

Nonetheless, earlier than they try to attain for the title, there’s a dismal quantity from the earlier season that requires rewriting – Indians completed with a 1-13 win-loss file throughout the 4 Challengers.

There may be thus a excessive bar and a low bar to clear. It will likely be in Indian tennis’ finest pursuits if each might be managed.

Qualifying first spherical (choose outcomes): Sidharth Rawat bt Nitinkumar Sinha 6-3, 7-5; Aziz Ouakaa (Tun) bt A. Vishal Balsekar 6-4, 7-6(3); Eero Vasa (Fin) bt Adil Kalyanpur 3-6, 6-3, 6-0; Arthur Reymond (Fra) bt Ramkumar Ramanathan 7-5, 7-6(3); Dominik Palan (Cze) bt Dev Javia 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(5); Niels Visker (Ned) bt Manish Sureshkumar 6-3, 6-3.