Hangzhou Asian Games | Bopanna-Bhosale win tennis mixed doubles gold

India’s Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Sampatrao Bhosale celebrate after defeating Chinese Taipei’s Liang En-shuo and Tsung-Hao Huang in the Mixed Doubles Final tennis match at the 19th Asian Games, in Hangzhou, China, Saturday, September 30, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Rutuja Bhosale raised her game in nick of time while seasoned Rohan Bopanna stayed solid with his big serves as India came back from a set down to win the tennis mixed doubles gold at the Asian Games, here Saturday.

The second-seeded Indian team rallied to win the title clash 2-6 6-3 10-4 against Chinese Taipei’s combo of Tsung-hao Huang and En-shuo Liang.

The victory ensured that India will return with at least one tennis gold from the Asian Games in an otherwise disappointing campaign in which the country managed to win only two medals — the other being men’s doubles silver.

The two-medal show is India’s worst at the Asian Games since the turn of the century.

In 2002, India had returned with four medals from Busan and in the following editions the country won four (2006, Doha), five (2010, Guangzhou), five (2014, Incheon) and three (2018, Indonesia) medals.

The men’s doubles team of Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan had won a silver on Friday but other players faded at different stages of the tournament.

No singles player from the country could make it to the medal round with Sumit Nagal and Ankita Raina exiting early.

The Indian tennis contingent also struggled in other team events with the biggest disappointment being the early exit of medal favourites Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri in the men’s doubles.