Reaching the semifinal stage implies that India is assured of at the least a bronze in tennis. Picture: Screenshot from Sony LIV
The Indian males’s doubles duo of Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan superior to the semi-finals of the 2023 Asian Video games tennis event in Hanghzou on Wednesday.
The second-seeded Indian pair quelled a late problem from China’s Zhizhen Zhang and Yibing Wu for a 6-1, 7-6(8) win within the quarterfinals.
Reaching the semifinal stage implies that India is assured of at the least a bronze.
Whereas it will likely be third Asian Video games medal for Myneni, who received the lads’s doubles silver and combined doubles gold in 2014 — it will likely be the first-ever medal for Ramkumar, who has endured a torrid 2023 season, by which he misplaced 17 first spherical singles matches.
The highest-seeded pair of Rohan Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri was thought-about a sure-shot medal contender however the Indian staff made a shock early exit.
Within the singles matches on Wednesday each Nagal and final version’s bronze medallist Ankita Raina exited the continental championship, squandering a one-set benefit.
In one other disappointing consequence, the highest seeded Indian pair of Yuki Bhambri and Raina crashed out of the combined doubles occasion, following a 4-6 6-4 8-10 defeat towards Philippines’ Francis Casey Alcantara and Alex Eala within the pre quarter-finals.
Veteran Rohan Bopanna and his accomplice Rutuja Bhosale inched nearer to a combined doubles medal, profitable their pre quarter-final match towards thirteenth seeded Japanese pair of Ayano Shimizu and Shinji Hazawa 6-3 6-4.
Singles disappointment
Up towards prime seed and residential favorite Zhizhen Zhang, it was all the time going to be a herculean job for Nagal to go previous the world quantity 60.
To his credit score, Nagal took a set off the Chinese language earlier than dropping steam within the males’s singles quarterfinals, which he misplaced 7-6(3) 1-6 2-6 in two hours and 16 minutes.
Somdev Devvarman had received a males’s singles gold in 2010 and after that Yuki Bhambri (2014, Incheon) and Prajnesh Gunneswaran (2018, Jakarta & Palembang) received a bronze every within the following editions.
Raina, who had change into solely the second Indian lady to win a singles bronze in 2018, waged a gritty battle towards Japan’s Haruka Raji earlier than dropping her quarterfinal 6-3 4-6 4-6 in a marathon two hours and 53-minute contest.
Their exit implies that India won’t have a singles medal from the Asian Video games for first time after the 2006 Doha version the place Rohan Bopanna and Karan Rastogi couldn’t attain the medal rounds within the males’s singles.
Ramkumar and Rutuja Bhosale had exited the singles competitors within the third and second spherical respectively.
With inputs from PTI