Asian Games 2023: India’s Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale clinch gold medal in mixed doubles

The second-seeded Indian pair of Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale clawed back to win a gold medal in the mixed doubles at the Asian Games 2023. The victory helped India keep their sensational track record of at least a gold in each of the six Asian Games events in this century intact. The Indian mixed doubles duo got the better of the ninth-seeded Chinese Taipei team of Tsung-hao Huang and En-shuo Liang 2-6, 6-3, 10-4 to secure the much-coveted gold medal. With this triumph, the Indian contingent succeeded in winning the ninth gold medal in the ongoing Asian Games.

For Bopanna, it was his second tennis final at the Asian Games. The 43-year-old had featured in the men’s doubles final at Jakarta 2018 where he succeeded in winning a gold medal. Bopanna’s men’s doubles campaign, however, came to an end in the round of 16 at this year’s Asian Games. At the Hangzhou Asian Games, Bopanna was paired with Yuki Bhambri in the men’s doubles segment.

In the mixed doubles final, Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale struggled initially having conceded the first set 2-6 in just around half an hour. They, however, exhibited terrific resilience and a steely mindset to complete a phenomenal comeback.

Bopanna and Bhosale’s win also ensured that India will come back with at least one gold medal in tennis from the Hangzhou Asian Games. Overall, India’s performance in tennis at the Asian Games has not been much impressive with just two medals so far. Previously, India managed to win a silver in the men's doubles segment. Indian men's doubles pair Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan had won the silver medal earlier this week on Friday.

Having received a bye in the first round, India’s Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale faced the Uzbek combo of Akgul Amanmuradova and Maksim Shin in the second round. Bopanna and Bhosale did not face much trouble in the second round as they secured a resounding 6-4, 6-2 victory.

In the next round, Bopanna and Bhosale got the better of Ayano Shimizu-Shinji Hazawa 6-3, 6-4 to qualify for the quarter-finals where the Indian pair recorded a 7-5, 6-3 win against Kazakhstan duo of Zhibek Kulambayeva and Grigoriy Lomakin.

Bopanna and Bhosale had to face tough competition against Chinese Taipei’s Hao-ching Chan and Yu-hsiou Hsu in the semi-finals. But the Indian pair earned a thrilling victory in a semi-final which was stretched to a tie-breaker.