27 September,2023 08:33 PM IST | Hangzhou | mid-day online correspondent
Ramkumar Ramanathan, Saketh Myneni (Pic: X)
The Indian tennis duo of Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni edged past home favourites Yibing Wu and Zhizhen Zhang in the men's doubles quarterfinal to ensure another medal for India in the ongoing Asian Games on Wednesday.
Ramkumar and Saketh booked their berth in the semifinal with two straight-set victories (6-1, 7-6).
Second seed Ramkumar and Saketh asserted their dominance in the first set as they cruised towards a comfortable first-set win by 6-1.
The Chinese pair struggled to match the intensity of the Indian pair as they fought hard for each point but fell short each time.
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In the second set, they breathed down the necks of the Indian pair making it hard for them to break the serve, unlike the first set. The game went into the tie-break and India emerged victorious by 7-6 to ensure at least a bronze medal for India.
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Earlier in the day, Sumit Nagal's Asian Games campaign drew to an end after he bowed out in the quarterfinal of the men's singles event. Besides Nagal, Ankita Raina faced defeat in the quarterfinals of the women's singles event. However, Raina will feature in mixed doubles with Yuki Bhambri in a round-three match against the Philippines.
Nagal was beaten by China's Zhizhen Zhang in three sets 6-7, 6-1, 6-2. He fought hard to win the first set 7-6. However, he lost his rhythm in the second set lost by 1-6. The Chinese player outplayed him in the third set, defeating him 2-6.
While Ankita won her first set against Japan's Haruka Kaji convincingly 6-3, she did not continue her fine touch in the second and third sets as she lost by 4-6, 6-4. Sumit had stormed into the men's singles quarterfinals of the Asian Games after defeating Kazakhstan's Beibit Zhukayev in two straight sets. Raina easily defeated Aditya P Karunaratne to reach the quarter-finals of the Asian Games on Tuesday.
(With agency inputs)
