Indian ace Sumit Nagal broke into the ATP top 100 for the first time in his career. Not long ago, he had revealed his financial struggles after a fall in rankings. Superstar Indian cricketer Virat Kohli, one of the highest-earning and most popular athletes globally, played a significant role in backing him.
Nagal finished 2023 as World No.138 after falling out of the top 500 in 2022. His 2024 season has been incredible so far as he scored an upset win as a qualifier over Alexander Bublik in the 2024 Australian Open first round. He followed it up with a Challenger title, propelling him to a career-high World No.98 rank, his maiden foray into the top 100.
Nagal had heartbreakingly revealed his plight in 2023, saying he had only €900 (about $975 USD) in his bank account. While he took home A$180,000 ($121,770 USD) for his second-round finish in Melbourne, his journey was supported by many, including Virat Kohli. The legendary cricketer owns the Virat Kohli Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that helps Indian athletes in all ways possible.
Sumit Nagal was also under the wings of this foundation from 2017 to 2021, a phase where he admitted to not being in his best form. He stated he faced a financial crunch during this spell since he was not winning much. He revealed Kohli and his foundation helped him immensely during these years. Nagal recounted one instance when the foundation paid for his flight tickets when he had only $6 USD with him (NDTV).
Kohli has a massive worldwide fan following, making him the 16th most-followed person on Instagram. With 266 million followers on the platform, he surpasses other stars like LeBron James, Rafael Nadal, Dua Lipa, and Zendaya. He endorses a host of brands like Audi, Colgate-Palmolive, Flipkart, Google, Hero Motocorp, Puma, Uber and more. This has boosted Kohli’s net worth to $127 million USD, as per various sources including Sportskeeda.
With the Virat Kohli foundation, the iconic cricketer is utilising his riches well to uplift other Indian athletes. Nagal is just one of the many beneficiaries.
Sumit Nagal reached multiple Grand Slams with support from Virat Kohli
Before the 2024 Australian Open, all three of Nagal’s Grand Slam main draw appearances came when he was attached to the Virat Kohli Foundation. After four qualifying attempts in 2018, he finally made his main draw debut at the 2019 US Open. As luck would have it, he ran into Roger Federer in the first round. He even took a set off the Swiss icon, but the 20-time Grand Slam champion was simply too good to beat.
Sumit Nagal returned at the 2020 US Open and bagged a historic first-round victory. However, he had tough luck again, crossing paths with eventual champion Dominic Thiem in the second round.
He made his Australian Open main draw debut in 2021 on a wildcard. That remained his last Grand Slam main event appearance until the iconic 2024 Australian Open. All these endeavors were backed by the Virat Kohli Foundation. Currently, Nagal is participating in the ATP Bengaluru Challenger event.
