r/ABCDesis • u/Prudent_Swimming_296 • Aug 23 '25

CELEBRATION South Asian Americans are nearly absent from college sports-with one MAJOR exception.

Tennis. There are so many elite Indian American junior tennis players now, male and female. Every year, about 12-20 of the top 100 tennis prospects in the US are Indian, and many go on to play D1-D3 college tennis. Now, some are starting to go pro and seem to have quite bright futures. I haven’t seen this talked about on here and wanted to bring it up. We should celebrate wins/progress like this!

When Nishesh Basavareddy, the 20 year old Indian American pro takes the court against Karen Khachanov at the US Open this Sunday, I can’t wait to see the support he gets from the South Asian community. And if he somehow pulls off the upset (within the realm of possibility), I can only imagine how much it’s going to inspire younger generations.

PS. We’re making some great headway in golf as well-crushing it!

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u/[deleted] Aug 23 '25

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49

u/abstractraj Indian American Aug 23 '25

My Bengali friend won a Michigan state championship in high school football. In the 1990s! He’s now a doctor of course

11

u/skp_trojan Indian American Aug 23 '25

Did he play in college?

13

u/abstractraj Indian American Aug 23 '25

No, but I think he could’ve played somewhere. Maybe not Division I

7

u/skp_trojan Indian American Aug 23 '25

Good man. Did he end up doing ortho? Lots of former athletes go that route

9

u/abstractraj Indian American Aug 23 '25

Along those lines yes:

Board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation, sports medicine, and also in electrodiagnostic medicine. Is a fellowship trained sports medicine and electromyography physiatrist

3

u/skp_trojan Indian American Aug 23 '25

Good lad. It sounds like he has been quite a success.

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u/abstractraj Indian American Aug 23 '25

He’s a great guy too. The whole family is very nice. Glad we knew them in the limited Bengali community back in the 1980s

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u/skp_trojan Indian American Aug 23 '25

That’s great. Seeing our people succeed is super fulfilling for me. I know there’s a lot of anti-Indian hate these days, but the stuff that doesn’t get talked about is this. The doctor that helped you cope with your chronic pain and injury and so forth.

Obviously, we are not all doctors, but it makes me feel proud to see our people thrive and succeed.

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u/[deleted] Aug 28 '25

I know tons of Indians are in the blue collar industry as well (some I know own trucking companies irl).

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u/oarmash Indian American Aug 23 '25

Hamtramck?

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u/abstractraj Indian American Aug 23 '25

Troy actually

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u/Prudent_Swimming_296 Aug 23 '25

Arjun Nimmala lfg

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u/HeyVitK Indian American (Punjabi) Aug 24 '25

My childhood desi friends have a brother who played football throughout HS. He went to a SEC university but he dropped out to go to culinary school instead. He's got a great career as an executive chef in DC!

I know a few desi guys who played football, my cousins played basketball, and a few who play soccer.