How will the absence of Mixed Doubles Tennis team affect India’s Medal Prospect in Tokyo?

The mixed doubles event in tennis has traditionally been a strong event for India in major international competitions like the Grand Slams and Asian Games. Indian doubles specialists like Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupati and Sania Mirza have won many grand slams in the mixed doubles event.

Although India has never won an Olympic medal in this event yet, they came close in the 2016 Rio Olympics.The Indian pair of Sania Mizra and Rohan Bopanna lost to Czech Republic’s Radek Stepanek and Lucie Hradecka in straight sets in the bronze medal playoff match and finished 4th. However, Indian tennis has been on a steady decline since then.