Credit: Twitter
India’s top-seeded singles tennis player Sumit Nagal admitted that he is going through a financial crunch and that things have been quite difficult for him lately. Nagal expressed his disappointment over the lack of support from the government despite his laurels for the country. The tennis icon, who trains at the Nansel Tennis Academy in Germany had to miss out on training at the academy due to lack of funds in the initial months of 2023.
The tennis player was in conversation with the PTI, where he commented on the lack of support from the Indian government, Nagal said, ''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 the Grand Slams, only player to win a (tennis) match at the Olympics (Tokyo) in last few years, and still the government has not added my name to the TOPS.”
Revealing his bank balance, the 2015 Wimbledon boys' doubles champion said, ''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,''
Nagal further revealed that it was his friend and fellow tennis player Somdev Devvarman, who came to his help before he finally managed to fund his stay in Germany. The 26-year-old also said he has invested the amount he got from the US Open and his monthly salary from IOCL.
He told the PTI, 'I am investing whatever I am making. The yearly cost when I travel with one coach is costing me around 80 lakh to 1 crore and that is just with one travelling coach (no physio). Whatever I have made I have already invested.”
