Sublime Som reigns supreme
Guangzhou, Nov. 23: Somdev Devvarman added a historic singles gold to his men’s doubles triumph with an upset win over world number 40 Denis Istomin as India rounded off their tennis campaign at the Asian Games with five medals here on Tuesday.
Second seed Somdev entered the history books with his superb 6-1, 6-2 win in the final over the top seed Uzbek as no Indian had won a gold medal in the singles event at the Asian Games before.
Somdev, ranked 106, won his second gold in as many days at the Games as he had combined with Sanam Singh to win the men’s doubles event on Monday.
Just last month, Somdev had won the men’s singles gold at the Commonwealth Games and has been the face of India on the ATP Tour in singles for quite some time.
The gritty Indian fell on his back on the court with tears in his eyes when a forehand error by Istomin confirmed the gold medal.
“I am very, very happy to get the gold here. It’s a dream come true. No one comes to an Asian Games with the intention of winning two gold medals. Representing the country gives me the greatest pleasure,” said Somdev.
In total, Somdev won three medals at this edition of the Games as he had earlier won a bronze in the team event as well. India rounded off their tennis campaign with five medals, two more than what the country had got at the Doha Asian Games in 2006.
Somdev broken his rival’s serve thrice in the opening set to clinch it 6-1 when Istomin hit his forehand shot over the baseline.
Somdev, who handled the pressure of playing the all-important gold medal match much better than his rival, staved off an early break attempt by Istomin in the second set by hanging on to his serve grimly in the third game. He then raced from 3-2 to 6-2 by breaking Istomin in the sixth and eighth games for the win.
Post new comment