'If I look at my bank balance, it is 900 euros': India's number 1 tennis player Sumit Nagal
₹1 crore that keeps him going on the ATP Tour, is now left with less than ₹1 lakh in his bank account, reported NDTV. Nagal, who has been training at the Nansel Tennis Academy in Germany for a few years, is in such a condition that he may not be able to train at his favorite place in the first three months of season 2023. Before he finally managed to fund his stay in Germany, his friends Somdev Devvarman and Christopher Marquis helped him stay in shape in January and February.
To keep his ATP Tour going on, Nagal has even invested all his prize money, his salary from IOCL, and the support he gets from the Maha Tennis Foundation. All the expenditure goes into his stay at the training center in Peine and his travel for tournaments, that too with either his coach or a physio. "If I look at my bank balance, I have what I had at the beginning of the year.
It is 900 euros (approx ₹80,000). I did get a bit of help. Mr Prashant Sutar is helping me with MAHA Tennis Foundation and I also get monthly (salary) from IOCL but I don't have any big sponsor," PTI quoted Nagal as saying.
Nagal's racquet, shoes, and apparel needs are being taken care of by Yonex and ASICS respectively. As per details, Nagal has earned about 65 lakh in 24 tournaments played this year, and the biggest pay cheque came from the US Open where he lost the first round of the Qualifiers and still pocketed $22,000 (approx ₹18 lakh). "I am investing whatever I am making.
The yearly cost when I travel with one coach is costing me around 80 lahks to 1 crore and that is just with one traveling coach (no physio). Whatever I have made I have already invested," he said. "I feel like I am lacking support despite being India's number-one player for the past few years.
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