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New Delhi: Sumit Nagal's resurgence as a singles player contributed a lot in India's Davis Cup win over Switzerland that helped them make the cut for the qualifiers next year, feels Sania Mirza.
It was the first time since 1993 that India defeated a European nation in Europe in the tournament that also relegated Switzerland to the Davis Cup 2026 World Group I play-offs.
Nagal won both his singles matches while Dhakshineswar Suresh won his first singles contest as India won 3-1 at the Swiss Tennis Arena in Biel.
Three-time runners-up in Davis Cup, India had not won their World Group I ties to enter the qualifiers since a new format was introduced in 2019.
"It's a great time to obviously give a shout out to the Davis Cup team who just won first time in over, I think, 31 or 32 years in Europe (1993 vs France at Frejus) against a European team beating Switzerland," Sania told PTI.
"Sumit Nagal really leading from the front there. Sumit, obviously, made it up over the last year, year and a half, had a great resurgence of sorts."
Sania also pointed at India's lack of singles players that makes Nagal the country's premier singles player though Suresh gives her hope.
"But these guys are not that young anymore. These guys are 28, 29, 30. And in tennis terms, it's not that young. I know it sounds harsh, but that's what it is," the former World No. 27 in women's singles said.
"But Sumit's done an unbelievable job to sort of keep the flag flying high, solo for the last few years and also winning in the Davis Cup.
"We just need to give him (Suresh) some time. And we finally are seeing results in singles coming out. And he still has some way to go, obviously. But I think we definitely see some potential in him. And hopefully there are bigger and greater things to come."
Though the National Sports Governance Act mandates four women in 15-member executive body's of sports federations, Sania remains unconvinced on entering the All India Tennis Association.
"I don't know if being in that power position is the only way I can help. That's my honest answer to you. If I had an opportunity, would I be able to, you know, if I can contribute more by being in that position, I would love to do it. But is it something that I'm aiming or that's my goal? The answer is no, that's not my goal," she said.
"My goal is to try to help as many of the young generation as possible, especially young girls, because I feel that they don't have too many role models that they can look up to.
"I want to share my experiences that I've had. And if that gives me an opportunity to get into a system, let's say, and gives me more opportunity than just being on the phone or helping them out on the court or whatever, I'm happy to do it.
"But it's not something that I really focus on. That's not really my goal," Sania added.
