Karnataka will field a formidable 10-member tennis squad for the 38^th National Games to be held from January 28 to February 14 in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

The tennis competition at the 18-day extravaganza will be held from February 5 to 11. Karnataka, the defending men's team champions, reaped a rich haul at the previous two editions in Goa and Ahmedabad.

Mysuru’s SD Prajwal Dev will lead Karnataka’s charge in the men’s section. Winner of a gold (team), silver (doubles) and bronze (mixed doubles) medals in the previous edition in Goa, he will be gunning for the gold in both the doubles events this time around.

The 28-year-old, who won four ITF doubles titles last year, three of them with fellow Karnataka player Adil Kalyanpur, will look to carry that form into the showpiece event. Prajwal and Kalyanpur, who won gold in men’s doubles in Ahmedabad, fell at the final hurdle in the previous edition.

With Kodava Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha shifting base to Mysuru, Karnataka will face a problem of plenty. The seasoned campaigner is an owner of two ITF singles and 18 doubles titles. Manush G and Rishi Reddy will give the team plenty of options.

Soha Sadiq, the National doubles champion (alongside Akanksha Nitture), will lead the charge of the women’s team. Soha clinched the doubles bronze with Sharmada Balu in Goa and the silver in Ahmedabad in 2022. 

Besides Soha, the KSLTA has picked a young crop of talented players. The state team will be accompanied by four officials.

The squad: Men: SD Prajwal Dev, Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha, Adil Kalyanpur, Manish G, Rishi Reddy. Reserve: Deepak A. Coach-cum-manager: Peter Vijay Kumar. Captain: Gokul Manjunath.

Women: Soha Sadiq, Amodini Vijay Naik, Siri M Patil, Harshini Nagaraj, Sreenidhi Balaji. Coach-cum-manager: Indira Mani. Captain: Suraj S Bikkannavar.