Tennis player Sumit Nagal ends 25 year-long losing streak of India in the men's single at Olympics

Tokyo:Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal defeated Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin by 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4 in the men’s singles at the Tokyo Olympic Games here at the Ariake Tennis Park on Saturday.

Now he is likely to face world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev of the ROC in the next round.

Notably, Nagal’s win was the first for an Indian men’s singles tennis player at the Olympics since Leander Paes’ bronze medal-winning run at Atlanta in 1996.

The 23-year-old started brightly, matching Istomin shot to shot, as the two held on to their serves in the opening set. It was the Uzbek who blinked first, handing Sumit Nagal the set with a break in the 10th game.

Nagal was quick to race to a 2-0 lead and was serving for the match at one point. However, Istomin broke his serve before drawing parity with a win in tie-breaker.The Indian tennis player, however, kept his composure to pocket the decider to register India’s first win in men’s singles in over two decades.(UNI)