Hangzhou [China], September 28 : The Indian duo of Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale assured India at least a bronze medal in the mixed doubles event following their straight-set victory over Kazakhstan pair of Zhibek Kulambayeva and Grigoriy Lomakin in the ongoing Asian Games on Thursday.
The Indian pair defeated the Kazakhstan pair by 7-5, 6-3 to secure their spot in the semifinals. In the first set, Grigoriy and Zhibek gave a tough challenge to the Indian team as they fought hard for each point.
With the game reading 5-all, Bopanna and Rutuja raised the bar to win a hard-fought set by 7-5 to take the lead in the game.
This is not the only assured medal that will come in tennis, Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan secured a spot in the finals of the Asian Games 2023 Men’s Doubles with a win over South Korean pair Seongchan Hong and Soonwoo Kwon in the semifinal. The Indian pair are now assured of a gold or silver medal in the event.
In the second set with the pressure mounting on the Kazakhstan pair the Indian duo took full advantage of the situation and claimed a comfortable 6-3 win to seal their spot in the semi-final of the mixed doubles event.
Earlier in the event, the Indian duo of Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale overcame the Japanese pair of Ayano Shimizu and Shinji Hazawa in straight sets in the Round 3 match.
Bhosale and Bopanna took the first set which lasted for 30 minutes quite comfortably with a score of 6-3. The second set was a similar story as the Indian pair claimed it in 29 minutes with a score of 6-4 to seal the match.
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