India out of Paris Olympics tennis on opening day

India's tennis representation at the Paris Olympics concluded on the first day. Sumit Nagal, Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji, the men's doubles duo, exited after being defeated in their initial matches by French opponents on Sunday.

 

Nagal was the first to compete, but despite his strong baseline game, he was unable to overcome the unpredictable Corentin Moutet, who secured a stylish victory in three sets.

 

In his second Olympic appearance, Nagal showed resilience after dropping the first set, but ultimately lost with a score of 2-6, 6-4, 5-7 in a match that lasted two hours and 28 minutes at a crowded court seven at the Roland Garros.

 

In the Tokyo Games, Nagal was eliminated in the second round by Russian Daniil Medvedev, and he faced a challenging start today. Although he initially led 2-0 in the final set with an early break, he allowed Moutet to stage a comeback and claim the win.

 

Later in the day, Bopanna and Balaji put up a spirited fight but were defeated with a score of 5-7, 2-6 by Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Gael Monfils, who substituted the injured Fabien Reboul in the French team at the last minute.

 

India has only clinched one Olympic medal in tennis, with Leander Paes securing a bronze in the 1996 Atlanta Games.