In a thrilling culmination to the Wheelchair Tennis World Team Cup Asia Qualifier 2026, India’s men’s team etched history by bagging bronze with a flawless 3-0 win against Chinese Taipei. Held under the auspices of the ITF in Bengaluru, this event is wheelchair tennis’s equivalent to the iconic Davis Cup, drawing top Asian talent.
Led by world-ranked stars Shekhar Veeraswami (210), Karnataka’s Basavaraj Kundargi (185), and Tamil Nadu’s Kartik Karunakaran (351), the team navigated a rocky road to glory. Initial heartbreak came via a 0-3 whitewash by Korea Republic: Han Sungbong (46) routed Karunakaran 6-1, 6-1; Im Ho Won (61) bested Kundargi 6-1, 6-2; doubles by Lee Jihwan (52) and Han 6-3, 6-2.
Sri Lanka, the hosts, repeated the dose 0-3: Lasantha Ranawira (63) demolished Veeraswami 6-2, 6-0; Suresh Dharmasena (78) shut out Kundargi 6-0, 6-0; doubles Gamini Disanayaka and Prasanna Wijesiriwardene 6-3, 6-3.
Redemption arrived against Pakistan in a 3-0 demolition. Karunakaran crushed Mohammad Firas (156) 6-0, 6-0; Veeraswami handled Fida Hussain (173) 6-0, 6-1; doubles sealed 6-0, 6-0.
The bronze-clinching performance versus Chinese Taipei was clinical: Karunakaran ousted Tang Chao-han (84) 6-1, 6-1; Veeraswami prevailed over Wang Wei-hsuan (92) 6-1, 6-2; doubles triumphed against Cheng Han-tsung (101) and Tang 6-1, 6-0. Karnataka’s contributions highlighted India’s growing stature in the sport.
Peter Vijay Kumar, doubling as coach and captain, remarked, ‘First-ever third place and bronze for our men’s team. Outstanding individual and team efforts, massive progress shown. This bronze at the hardest qualifier stage is praiseworthy.’
The women’s squad—Shilpa Kadukothanahalli Puttaraju (70), Prathima Narayan Rao (83), Mubina Kolakar (112)—battled valiantly but fell short. Korea dominated 3-0: Han Inkyung over Prathima 6-0, 6-0; Park Juyun over Shilpa 6-1, 6-1; doubles 6-0, 6-0.
China’s Li Xiaohui (2) and Wang Ziying (4) proved insurmountable 3-0: Wang d. Prathima 6-1, 6-0; Li d. Shilpa 6-0, 6-1; doubles 6-0, 6-0.
Against Kazakhstan, a mixed bag: Umutkulova d. Prathima 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3); Shilpa d. Butimbayeva 6-4, 6-4; but doubles loss 6-2, 6-7(1), [10-5] gave Kazakhstan 2-1.
This achievement propels Indian wheelchair tennis forward, inspiring future generations.