India could be without one of its key doubles players for the upcoming Davis Cup clash against South Korea, with Yuki Bhambri facing a race against time after suffering a right-leg strain.
The 32-year-old sustained the injury during a practice session before his US Open main-draw match. His participation in the crucial Davis Cup tie in Seoul remains uncertain, as he continues to deal with pain and has not been given a specific recovery timeline.
Bhambri did not travel to Seoul with the first group of Indian players that departed on Thursday night, further raising doubts about whether he will be fit to compete.
The winner of the tie will secure a place in the eight-team Davis Cup Finals, making the encounter particularly important for India.
Bhambri Calls Injury a Minor Strain
Bhambri has described the problem as a minor strain and said he does not expect it to affect his participation in the Asian Games later this month.
“This happened during practice before my main-draw match. It is a minor strain. There is no fixed recovery timeline at the moment, but it is nothing major,” Bhambri told PTI.
He is currently being assessed on a daily basis while remaining in contact with members of the Indian Davis Cup support team, including Debashish Das and Yash Pandey.
“There is still some pain. We are taking it one day at a time and will see how things progress,” Bhambri said.
Asian Games Participation Not Under Threat
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the Davis Cup tie, Bhambri remains confident that he will be able to represent India at the Asian Games.
“I am competing in the Asian Games one hundred percent. We will see if we can recover for Davis Cup,” he said.
His immediate priority, however, is determining whether he can recover sufficiently to join the Indian squad in Seoul and play in the crucial tie against Korea.
India Looks at Doubles Alternatives
If Bhambri is ruled out, India may have to make changes to its doubles combination.
N Sriram Balaji could potentially team up with singles specialist Dhakshineswar Suresh, giving captain Rohit Rajpal another option.
Reserve players Siddharth Rawat and Arnav Paparkar are also part of the squad, although both are primarily singles players.
According to sources within the All India Tennis Association (AITA), left-handed doubles player Anirudh Chandrasekar has already been asked to join the Indian team in Seoul following a request from captain Rohit Rajpal. Chandrasekar already holds a valid Korean visa.
The AITA has also applied for a visa for Niki Poonacha, another potential doubles option.
Bhambri Confident About India’s Doubles Strength
Despite his own injury uncertainty, Bhambri remains confident that India has enough depth to challenge Korea in the doubles rubber.
“We are good enough to beat Korea in doubles, and India has no shortage of doubles options,” he said.
India will now hope Bhambri’s recovery progresses quickly, while the team management prepares alternative combinations ahead of the decisive Davis Cup encounter.