Indian tennis players need no less than a miraculous performance to get close to the medal rounds as an under-prepared team of Sania Mirza and debutant Ankita Raina faces a tough Ukrainian challenge in the opener while Sumit Nagal has got a tough draw in the singles competition.
Mirza, who is making a record fourth Olympic appearance, and debutant Raina are going into the Olympics without playing a single competitive match together this year, which is far from ideal preparation.
They will open their campaign against Ukraine’s twin sisters Nadiia and Lyudmyla Kichenok.
In the men’s singles, Nagal is extremely lucky to get an entry into the Olympics but his recent performances do not inspire confidence and he faces Asian Games champion Denis Istomin in his first round. There is a possibility of him getting past the 34-year-old Uzbek but the Indian may next face world number two and Australian Open runner-up Danill Medvedev from Russia and that could be end of the road for him.