Asian Games 2023: Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale win gold for India in mixed doubles after defeating Chinese Taipei

Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale defeated Chinese Taipei's Tsung-hao Huang and En-shuo Liang 2-6, 6-3,10-4 in the mixed doubles final at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

The win is Bopanna's second consecutive gold medal at the event and Rutuja's first. The second seeded duo had defeated Chinese Taipei's second team in the semifinals before triumphing in the final to cap a stellar run in the tournament.

The first set began on a positive note for India with Bopanna serving aces and solid groundstrokes to take an early lead in the match. But Taipei roared back to form and won the next five games, including a Huang thunderbolt return to break at 4-1. Huang's forehand volley sealed the set 6-2 in the Taipei team's favour.

The second set started in the same fashion as the first with Bopanna's ace giving the Indians a lead. This time, however, the Indians ensured they stayed on par with their opponents by winning their service games and waiting for the opportune moment to break. That moment came when Bopanna ensured a 5-3 advantage going into their final serve game. The veteran's powerful serve enabled India to seal the second set 6-3, which meant a crucial tiebreak would determine the gold medallist.

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Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale race to victory in the tiebreak

The Indians served and volleyed well to take a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak. Taipei tried hard to restore parity but as and when they managed to win a point, India surged ahead with two of their own, courtesy some astute services from Bopanna. Finally, at 9-4 and a match point up, Rutuja Bhosale slammed an ace down the service line to a thunderous response from the Indian fans. She leaped in joy, as Bopanna hugged her.

The medal ceremony took place post the match with both Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale looking the part in their white and blue Indian jackets. They waved to the crowds and soaked in the atmosphere as they were presented with the gold medals.

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