Mysuru girl Dhruthi T. Venugopal has been selected to represent India in the Asian Indoor Games in Turkmenistan. The women’s team will have Ankita Raina, Riya Bhatia, Dhruthi Venugopal and Prarthana Thombare.

The Indian tennis players will get another platform to make an impact in the fifth Asian Indoor and Martial Art Games to be staged in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, from Sept. 17 to 27.

Since the Games clash with the Davis Cup World Group play-off to be staged in Canada from July 15 to 17, India will not be able to field some of its best men players.

Thus, it will be an opportunity for Vishnu Vardhan, Sumit Nagal, Sidharth Rawat, Vijay Sundar Prashanth to assert their class in singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Vishnu Vardhan has an Asian Games mixed doubles silver with Sania Mirza. Equally, Prarthana Thombare had won the women’s doubles bronze in the last Asian Games in Incheon, Korea, with Sania.

From each country, two players can compete in singles and field one doubles team each in the men’s and women’s section, apart from one mixed doubles team.

The Indian tennis team will have former national champion Ashutosh Singh as the captain and coach. The Asian Indoor and Martial Art Games will also feature athletics, 3×3 basketball, belt wrestling, billiards sports, bowling, chess, track cycling, dance sport, equestrian, futsal, ju-jitsu, kick boxing, kurash, muay thai, samba, short course swimming, taekwondo, traditional wrestling and weightlifting.