Sumit Nagal, an Indian tennis player qualified for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics on Friday after a large number of athletes withdrew from the sporting event, mostly due to the threat of COVID-19. Nagal qualified for the men’s single category.

However, the All India Tennis Association paired up Nangal with Rohan Bopanna for the doubles event, due to which nomination of Divij Sharan was pulled out, according to reports from PTI.

Hours before the deadline for entries, the International Tennis Federation told Indian authorities that Nangal will be permitted to play in the single’s category.

Till Thursday, the cut-off for eligibility was rank 130, which was taken away by Yuki Bhambri, who was seeded at the 127th position. Nagal, on the other hand, was placed at the 144th rank of the Association of Tennis Professionals, according to reports from PTI.

The Secretary-General of the All India Tennis Association Anil Dhupar said in a statement, “ITF has confirmed Nagal’s entry for singles. We spoke to him and he accepted his entry. We have approached IOA and requested to arrange for his accreditation.”

We have withdrawn Divij Sharan’s nomination and sent a new team to ITF. Let us see if Bopanna and Nagal can enter, the statement added, according to reports from PTI.

The ITF, as of now, has not confirmed if Bopanna and Nagal can enter the men’s doubles.

So far, only Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina are certain to compete in the women’s doubles draw. Sania Mirza used her protected rank of nine to enter the prestigious competition with Ankita Raina.

All top-10 players get direct entry and have the privilege to choose a partner of their choice, who is ranked inside the top-300, according to reports from PTI.