Sumit Nagal seeks help from China after visa rejection for tournament
Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal, currently the highest-ranked player in his country, has requested that Chinese authorities intervene after he was denied a visa to participate in a qualifying tournament for the Australian Open, which will begin on November 24 in Chengdu. Nagal turned to social media to ask the Chinese ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, and the Chinese embassy to intervene on his behalf.The organizers of the Australian Open were contacted for comment on the matter. The 2026 Australian Open, the first Grand Slam event of the year, will begin on January 18 in Melbourne. Relations between India and China, two Asian powers with the world’s largest populations, have recently improved. Last month, both countries planned to resume direct flights between some of their cities after a five-year suspension, in an attempt to improve bilateral relations. According to reports, there has been no immediate response from the embassy or the tournament organizers. One of the highlights in the career of Nagal, 28, was winning the first set of a US Open match against Roger Federer in 2019. Although Federer won the next three sets to advance to the second round. Nagal reached his best singles ranking in July 2024, ranking 68th. Currently, his ranking is 290. He has been a member of the Indian Davis Cup team since 2018. In January, he lost in the first round of the Australian Open and failed to qualify for the French Open and Wimbledon. However, he won the Wimbledon men’s doubles title in 2015 along with Ly Hoang Nam of Vietnam, becoming the sixth Indian player to win a junior Grand Slam title. The Asia-Pacific qualifying tournament for the Australian Open is scheduled to take place from November 24 to 29 at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre. The event will feature 16 players in men’s and women’s singles, and 12 teams in men’s and women’s doubles. In last year’s Asia-Pacific qualifying tournament, also held in Chengdu, China’s Zhang Shuai and Thailand’s Kasidit Samrej secured their spots in the main draw of the 2025 Australian Open. Zhang defeated American McCartney Kessler in the first round in Melbourne before losing to Yulia Putintseva, seeded number 24, in the second round. Samrej, who had never competed in a Grand Slam event, not even in the qualifying rounds, took Daniil Medvedev, seeded number five, to five sets before losing in the first round.I was supposed to fly to China soon to represent India in the Australian Open playoff. However, my visa was rejected without any reason. Your urgent help would be greatly appreciated.
Sumit Nagal
