Rohit Rajpal Backs Sumit Nagal After Davis Cup Struggles

India captain Rohit Rajpal backed Sumit Nagal despite the country’s 1-3 Davis Cup defeat to Korea, refusing to single out the struggling No. 1 player after he suffered his fourth singles loss of the season.

India missed an opportunity to progress to the Davis Cup knockout round after going down to Korea in a tie that remained within their reach. Both Indian singles players won their opening sets on Friday but failed to convert their advantages, leaving the team 0-2 down after the opening day.

Nagal then suffered a 1-6, 2-6 defeat against Kwon Soonwoo in the must-win reverse singles, allowing Korea to seal the tie.

Nagal Admits Physical Gap Against Kwon

Nagal, who had battled through a long opening-day singles match against Hyeon Chung, acknowledged that he was physically below Kwon in the decisive contest.

“I think more than mentally, it was physically. He played at a very high level. I was one level down, he was one level up. That made a big difference between me and him. He just outplayed me, that’s it,” Nagal said.

The Indian felt Kwon was particularly well suited to the conditions in Seoul, where the heavier balls made it difficult for him to impose his own game.

“It’s very tough to hurt him here. It’s not easy to outplay him in these conditions. It’s very suitable for him. The balls are heavy, everything goes to his knee, he can barely hit anything above his shoulder, while my game style is very opposite to him,” he said.

Nagal also believed Kwon benefited from being physically fresher after playing a shorter match earlier in the tie.

“He played DK, much faster points. You could see that he was physically better than me today, which was expected,” Nagal said.

Rajpal Refuses To Single Out Nagal

While Nagal accepted responsibility for his performance, Rajpal said India’s defeat could not be blamed on one player.

“We play as a team. I am not going to single out anyone for that matter. We win as a team. Even in Bengaluru he had a tear, he taped himself, we did not tell anyone and almost pulled off the match. Everybody goes up and down,” Rajpal said.

Nagal also defended the captain, saying there was little Rajpal could have done once the match against Kwon slipped away.

“At the end of the day, it’s not his job. It’s my job when I step on the court to carry the team, to carry the flag,” Nagal said.

“It was not an even match. Whatever a captain or my friends would say, I was still very far behind. He didn’t give me a chance,” he added.

India Pay Price For 0-2 Start

Rajpal felt India’s inability to close out crucial moments on the opening day ultimately decided the tie.

“We just lacked finish and luck favoured them. A lot of things went their way. This Davis Cup is all about home advantage but we needed to close the match,” he said.

He particularly rued Nagal’s opening-day defeat, believing the Indian had been in a strong position after fighting back in the third set.

“Yesterday’s match was clearly Sumit’s match. Third set he was back to 4-4 from 1-4,” Rajpal said.

The captain identified the opening day as the decisive point in India’s defeat.

“The tie was lost on the first day when we were down 0-2. We need to move forward positively. We all have learnt and will do much better next time,” he said.

Nagal Embraces Davis Cup Responsibility

Nagal, meanwhile, insisted he had given everything despite being unable to match Kwon’s level.

“I’m not saying that I didn’t try. I did try. It was just, let’s say, not a day where points were going towards me. That’s it,” he said.

The Indian was also involved in the team’s doubles plans and could have been required to play three matches in the tie, as had happened against the Netherlands.

Dhakshineswar was pulled in to play doubles, while Nagal would have faced another reverse singles assignment had he won against Kwon.

Asked whether it was fair for him to potentially play three matches, Nagal did not complain.

“It’s actually a privilege to play. It does not happen often that we get to play Davis Cup, so no complaints,” he said.

India will now return to the Davis Cup Qualifiers Round 1 in 2027 after missing out on a place in this year’s knockout stage.