Manas Dhamne has earned his maiden Davis Cup call-up, with the 18-year-old named in India’s five-member squad for the Qualifiers Round 2 tie against South Korea in Seoul on September 18-19. The teenager, ranked World No. 362, joins Sumit Nagal, Dhakshineswar Suresh, Yuki Bhambri and N. Sriram Balaji in the Indian squad for the hard-court contest at the Olympic Tennis Centre.
Dhamne’s inclusion gives captain Rohit Rajpal a third singles option behind Nagal, ranked 235th in the world, and Dhakshineswar, who is World No. 393. Sidharth Rawat (World No. 536) and junior Grand Slam campaigner Arnav Paparkar have been named as reserves.
India also have considerable experience in the doubles department, with Bhambri ranked World No. 28 and Balaji World No. 57. However, Rajpal could again turn to Dhakshineswar in doubles after the 6’5″ player delivered a match-winning performance against the Netherlands earlier this year.
India defeated the Netherlands 3-2 in Bengaluru in February to reach the second round of the qualifiers for the first time since the current Davis Cup format was introduced in 2019. Dhakshineswar was central to that victory, winning both his singles rubbers before pairing up with Bhambri to secure the decisive doubles match.
South Korea will enter the tie with momentum of its own after pulling off a 3-2 upset against 2016 champions Argentina in Busan. Kwon Soonwoo, who was still completing his military service, inspired the Koreans as they fought back to eliminate the fancied South Americans.
With a place in the Davis Cup Final 8 in November at stake, the Seoul tie promises a closely fought contest. India are ranked 19th in the world, two places below Korea, who are placed at the 16th spot.
South Korea lead the head-to-head record against India 6-5, even as they have not met since 2016. India won their last encounter 4-1 in Chandigarh in an Asia/Oceania Group I tie played on grass.
The winner in Seoul will secure a place in the Davis Cup Final 8 in November.