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Asian Games 2018, Tennis: Prajnesh Gunneswaran settles for bronze in men's singles

India's tennis player Prajnesh Gunesswaran settled for a bronze medal after going down to Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin in men's singles semi-finals by 2-6, 2-6 in the ongoing Asian Games 2018.

Asian Games 2018, Tennis: Prajnesh Gunneswaran settles for bronze in mens singles

Jakarta, Aug 24: India's tennis player Prajnesh Gunesswaran settled for a bronze medal after going down to Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin in men's singles semi-finals by 2-6, 2-6 in the ongoing Asian Games 2018 here on Friday (August 24).

The left-handed tennis player looked no match to his opponent who never gave an opportunity to the Indian to script a comeback.

Asian Games 2018 Special Page

The 28-year-old Indian was finally defeated but he brought India the third medal in tennis after Ankita Raina (bronze in women's singles) and Rohan Bopanna-Divij Sharan bagged a gold in men's doubles event.

Earlier in the day, top seeds Bopanna and Sharan notched up their maiden men's doubles gold medal at the Asian Games, dominating the final clash with a thoroughly clinical performance. Bopanna and Sharan defeated Aleksander Bublik and Denis Yevseyev of Kazakhstan 6-3 6-4 in 52 minutes.

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 on-court 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.

The second set went slightly better for Bublik and Yevseyev but they just could not rein in the unforced errors, including a double fault in the fifth game which could have cost them. The Kazakhs had the faster legs between the two pairs but the Indians had the experience to negate that.

At 3-3, Bopanna and Sharan clinched the all-important break to go up and though they were pushed a bit in the very next game, the top seeds held serve to grab a 5-3 lead.

The Kazakhs held on in the next game but it only delayed the inevitable. Serving for the match at 40-0, Bopanna didn't really come up with the booming serve but the Kazakhs had been deflated enough and a feeble return went into the nets to give India the first tennis gold of the ongoing event.

India have claimed the men's doubles gold on four occasions at the Games, the last pair being Somdev Devvarman and Sanam Singh in the 2010 Guangzhou edition. Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes remain the most successful Indian men's doubles pair in the Asian Games history, having claimed back-to-back gold medals in the 2002 and 2006 Games.

Paes had stunned the Indian team this time by pulling out on the eve of the Games after complaining of not getting a specialist partner of his choice. In 2014, Saketh Myneni and Sanam had ended with a silver medal.

(With inputs from PTI)

Story first published: Friday, August 24, 2018, 18:50 [IST]
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