Kamal Ghorui
BENGALURU: India’s non-playing captain Rohit Rajpal has his fingers crossed over the availability of Sumit Nagal for the Davis Cup Qualifiers Round 1 tie against the Netherlands starting here Saturday.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!India’s top-ranked singles player felt a strain in his hip while playing Japan’s Rio Noguchi at the ATP Challenger 75 event in Nonthaburi, Thailand, last month. Nagal retired in the first set of his round-of-16 match and returned to India, where he has been undergoing rehabilitation.Currently ranked world No. 281, Nagal is set to begin on-court training here from Tuesday. Other squad members, including Dhakshineswar Suresh and Yuki Bhambri, are expected to join him. Karan Singh and Rithvik Bollipalli have already begun training under Rajpal’s watchful eye. “We certainly have a concern with his injury. The physios are working hard with him and we’re keeping our fingers crossed,” Rajpal said.Nagal had also battled illness and a back injury during the first half of 2025.“He’s been in rehab for the last couple of weeks and we’re slowly building him up. We’re happy with his progress. He trained on the court twice in Delhi. From Tuesday onwards, we’ll start to put him under pressure — in sets and match situations. That’s when we’ll really know,” Rajpal added.
