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Asian Games 2018: Rohan Bopanna, Divij Sharan land gold in men's tennis doubles

Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan beat Kazakh duo of Aleksandr Bublik and Denis Yevseyev 6 3, 6 4 to win gold

Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan won the gold in mens doubles tennis

Jakarta, August 24: Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan landed India their sixth gold of the Asian Games 2018 with a smooth 6-3, 6-4 win over Kazhakistan pair of Aleksandr Bublik and Denis Yevseyev here on Friday (August 24).

This is the fifth gold medal for India in the men's doubles tennis event since the Asian Games started.

Previously, the teams that won gold for India in tennis men's doubles were - Gaurav Natekar/Leander Paes (1994, Hiroshima), Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes (2002 Busan), Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes (2006, Doha), and Somdev Devvarman/Sanam Singh (2010, Guangzhou).

India can hope for another medal from the tennis court as Prajnesh Gunneswaran ensured another podium finish for India when he beat Korea's Soonwoo Kwon 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (8) to enter the semifinals of men's singles category.

On Friday, Both Bopanna and Sharan looked sharp from the back of the court and in front of the net. Bopanna started off the proceedings holding his serve and then the Indian duo broke their opponents in the second game of the first set without breaking much sweat.

Trying to consolidate his break, Sharan saw the Kazakh duo matching him points by points before holding his serve to make it 3-0 for India. But thereafter, the Kazakh duo managed to hold their serve but the Indians too did not squander their lead as they closed out the first set 6-3.

Besides those crisp volleys and powerful and smart shots from baseline, the finest aspect of the game of Bopanna and Sharan were the high percentage of first serve they managed in the first set - 76%.

It ensured that the Kazakh players never really managed to put pressure on the Indians. The second set was a sequel of the first. The Indians dominated their rivals from the back of the court as well as from near the net. They got the break in the seventh game to go up 4-3 after the two parties went with their serve in the first six games.

The Indians never allowed their rivals a chance to fight back, holding their serve and closed out the set and match with consummate ease.

Bronze for Gunneswaran

India's Prajnesh Gunneswaran lost Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals of the Asian Games 2018 and settled for bronze.

Story first published: Friday, August 24, 2018, 18:10 [IST]
Other articles published on Aug 24, 2018