SanBop off to semis
Rio de Janeiro: Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna subdued Britain’s Andy Murray and Heather Watson with remarkable ease to breeze into the mixed doubles semifinals of the Rio Olympic Games here.
The fourth seeded Indian pair dominated the quarterfinal contest, winning 6-4 6-4 in just 67 minutes.
One more victory will ensure India a silver medal and a defeat in the semifinals would give Sania and Bopanna a chance to fight for the Bronze.
India has only one tennis medal in its entire Olympic history that came through leander Paes, who won a singles Bronze at 1996 Atlanta Games. Murray came into the contest after winning his singles quarterfinal that lasted more than two hours and was a pale shadow of himself.
The World No 2, winner of three Grand Slams and singles defending Olympic champion, seemed conserving his energy for the bigger battle ahead. His stifled movement made the task easier for the Indians. Watson did not look like a player who won the Wimbledon mixed double title this year, struggling with her serve and ground strokes in the opening set.
Sania and Bopanna were a better team than the Britons, who never posed a threat to the Indians. Bopanna was solid with his booming serve while Sania played superbly from the back of the court. Bopanna began with a double fault and Sania’s consecutive volley errors meant Indians blinked first.
However, they immediately got the break back as Watson dropped serve at love. A flurry of unforced errors by the Briton set Indians nicely with three chances and Bopanna found a backhand winner on the first break point. Sania saved a breakpoint in the next and held to make it 2-2. A nervous looking Watson struggled with her serve and was again down 0-40. The Indians seized the advantage. Murray failed to put across a strong forehand return from Sania, putting the Indians ahead 4-3. Sania came out serving solid in the next set as India led 5-3. Bopanna served out the first set without fuss, hitting two aces.
The Brits played better as a team in the second but the Indians broke Murray in the fifth for a 3-2 lead. That lead stayed with the Indians and Bopanna sealed the issue on the third match point with a smash.
Vikas 1 short of q/f
Rio de Janeiro: Vikas Krishnan stood a win away from an elusive Olympic medal as the Indian outclassed Turkey’s Sipal Onder 3-0 to comfortably advance to the quarterfinals of men's 75kg middleweight boxing at the Rio Games here. With 38 seconds to go, the Turkish had to take a break to treat his bleeding eye, which reflected Vikas’ domination of the first round.
In the pre-quarterfinals, Vikas seemed the more assured boxer and will face his stiffest challenge against Bektemir Melikuziev of Uzbekistan, who has also beaten the Indian in the final of the 2015 Asian Championships.
Melikuziev is the 2015 World Championship silver medallist and 2014 Youth Olympic Games champion.
The Uzbek, who was named 2015 Best Male Boxer by the Asian Boxing Confederation, defeated Daniel lewis of Australia. Just one win away from an Olympic medal Krishan says he wants nothing less than a Gold in Rio.
"He (Melikuziev) is the toughest in the group. Mark my words, if I am able to defeat him, I will return home with a Gold,” the 24-year-old Indian said.
Melikuziev beat Vikas at the Asian Championship in Thailand last year. “He’s a bit powerful and a bit heavier in weight. But he does not have a height advantage. He has the power and stamina, he is young,” Vikas said.
“I was not in form then (at Asian Championships), while he was at his peak. I've picked my rhythm now,” Vikas said.
Vikas said he and his personal coach Jagdeep Hooda would relax and strategise only on the eve of their bout which is at 3 am IST, August 15. “I will just relax for two nights and on the eve of the bout will think of my strategy. I just want to remain tension free,” he said.