GOLDEN DOUBLE
Palembang, Aug. 24: Top seeds Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan notched up their maiden men’s doubles gold medal at the Asian Games tennis competition, dominating the final clash with a thoroughly clinical performance here on Friday.
The lone Indian in fray in the men’s singles event, Prajnesh Gunneswaran, settled for a bronze after losing 2- 6, 2- 6 to Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin in a semifinal that was much more competitive than what the scoreline might suggest.
Bopanna and Sharan, on the other hand, defeated Aleksander Bublik and Denis Yevseyev of Kazakhstan 6- 3, 6- 4 in 52 minutes.
The two medals claimed on Friday, along with Ankita Raina’s bronze in women’s singles, ended India’s tennis campaign at the Games.
The stars of the final day were without doubt Bopanna and Sharan, competing together for the first time on the international stage.
Less than 20 minutes into the match, the Indians were 4- 1 ahead, breaking Bublik and Yevseyev at the very first opportunity they got.
In no time, the top seeds were serving for the set with a 5- 3 lead and Bopanna’s booming serve wrapped it up in style for them.
The Kazakhs had their moments but were undone by erratic play — a brilliant cross- court backhand winner one moment and a powerless return buried in the nets the very next minute.
In contrast, Bopanna and Sharan’s easy camaraderie shone through in the match and they displayed near- perfect oncourt coordination.
Bopanna was particularly formidable from the baseline, displaying a good range of strokes to pull off some tough winners, helped by his brute power throughout.