It was mission accomplished for Sania Mirza. She won the mixed doubles gold with Saketh Myneni in the Asian Games at the Yeorumul Complex on Monday.
The second-seeded Indian pair did not give much of a chance for the top-seeded Hsien Yin Peng and Hao Ching Chan of Chinese Taipei in winning 6-4, 6-3 in the final.
It was a healing touch for Saketh after he had to settle for silver with Sanam Singh in the men’s doubles earlier, as the Indian duo was beaten by Hyeon Chung and Yong-Kyu Lim of Korea, in front of a home crowd, 7-5, 7-6(2).
It was literally a bonus that Sania had combined with Prarthana Thombare for the first ever women’s doubles tennis medal for India in the Asian Games.
Saketh Myneni did not have to put his explosive game on display today. He was quite crafty with his all-court game, and with Sania winning the baseline battle with the man across the net, it was a neat execution by the Indian pair.
Hao Ching Chan was broken in the seventh game of the first set which proved decisive. In the second set, the Taipei players dropped serve thrice, and were able to break Sania in the fourth game.
Silver for Saketh-Sanam
Earlier in the men’s doubles final, the Koreans rarely put a foot wrong in defeating Saketh and Sanam Singh.
There was only one break of serve in the high-voltage drama, and Sanam dropped serve in the 12th game of the first set after the Indian pair saved three set points from 0-40, only to lose it on the deuce point.
The Indian players did have their chances at deuce on the Koreans’ serve a few times, but Chung and Lim played solid on the big points to ensure a memorable victory.
With Divij Sharan and Yuki Bhambri also being awarded the doubles bronze medal, it was a memorable day for Indian tennis.
The results (finals):
Men’s doubles: Hyeon Chung & Yongkyu Lim (Kor) bt Saketh Myneni & Sanam Singh 7-5, 7-6(2).
Women’s doubles: Tamarine Tanasugarn & Luksika Kumkhum (Tha) bt Chin Wei Chan & Su Wei Hsieh (Tpe) 5-7, 6-3, 10-3.
Mixed doubles: Saketh Myneni & Sania Mirza bt Hsien Yin Peng & Hao Ching Chan (Tpe) 6-4, 6-3.
