It was a golden double for Ankita Raina as India dominated the tennis events, winning all the three finals played here on Wednesday.
India enjoyed the gold rush riding the fine form of its Fed Cup and Davis Cup members who were present in good numbers. The host is also assured of a clean sweep of the five golds with Indian players booking both the slots in the remaining two finals to be played on the concluding day on Thursday.
Ankita Raina won the women’s singles gold defeating Prerna Bhambri before pairing up with Divij Sharan to win the mixed doubles and be the most successful player of the day. The third gold went to the men’s pair of Ramkumar Ramanathan and Vijay Sundar Prashanth; the duo outclassed Divij Sharan and Sanam Singh en route to the title.
Ankita good form was in view as she came up with an overriding performance against her Fed Cup teammate Prerna, who could just win one game before losing the final.
Top seed Ankita dominated from the start breaking Prerna’s serve in the very first game. Second-seeded Prerna could not get into the groove as Ankita kept pounding strong returns.
Prerna did not hold serve throughout the match, unable to sustain the relentless attacks of Ankita, who won 6-1, 6-0 in just 59 minutes. “I am trying to get my service right and am attacking with more power. I am playing the WTA circuit more frequently and that is helping me better my game,” Ankita, who has been consistent this year, said after claiming her second gold medal.
Top seed Saketh Myneni and second seed Ramkumar Ramanathan won their respective singles semifinals against Aisam-ul-Qureshi of Pakistan and Shamal Dissanayake of Sri Lanka in contrasting styles to set up a title clash. The win helped Ramkumar brighten the prospect of a second SAG gold, having won the doubles with Vijay Sundar.
The results: Men (semifinals): Saketh Myneni bt Aisam-ul-Qureshi (Pak) 6-2, 6-1; Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Shamal Dissanayake (Sri) 6-4, 7-5. Doubles: Final: Ramkumar Ramanathan & Vijay Sundar Prashanth bt Divij Sharan & Sanam Singh 6-3, 6-4. Mixed doubles: Final: Divij Sharan & Ankita Raina bt Sanam Singh & Prarthana Thombare 6-2, 7-6(3).
Women: Final: Ankita Raina bt Prerna Bhambri 6-1, 6-0. Doubles (semifinals): Sharmadaa Baluu & Prarthana Thombare bt Amritha Muttiah & Medhira Samarasinghe (Sri) 6-1, 6-1, Rishika Sunkara & Natasha Palha bt Thisuri Molligoda & Nethmie Waduge (Sri) 6-2, 6-0.
India enjoyed the gold rush riding the fine form of its Fed Cup and Davis Cup members who were present in good numbers. The host is also assured of a clean sweep of the five golds with Indian players booking both the slots in the remaining two finals to be played on the concluding day on Thursday.
Ankita Raina won the women’s singles gold defeating Prerna Bhambri before pairing up with Divij Sharan to win the mixed doubles and be the most successful player of the day. The third gold went to the men’s pair of Ramkumar Ramanathan and Vijay Sundar Prashanth; the duo outclassed Divij Sharan and Sanam Singh en route to the title.
Ankita good form was in view as she came up with an overriding performance against her Fed Cup teammate Prerna, who could just win one game before losing the final.
Top seed Ankita dominated from the start breaking Prerna’s serve in the very first game. Second-seeded Prerna could not get into the groove as Ankita kept pounding strong returns.
Prerna did not hold serve throughout the match, unable to sustain the relentless attacks of Ankita, who won 6-1, 6-0 in just 59 minutes. “I am trying to get my service right and am attacking with more power. I am playing the WTA circuit more frequently and that is helping me better my game,” Ankita, who has been consistent this year, said after claiming her second gold medal.
Top seed Saketh Myneni and second seed Ramkumar Ramanathan won their respective singles semifinals against Aisam-ul-Qureshi of Pakistan and Shamal Dissanayake of Sri Lanka in contrasting styles to set up a title clash. The win helped Ramkumar brighten the prospect of a second SAG gold, having won the doubles with Vijay Sundar.
The results: Men (semifinals): Saketh Myneni bt Aisam-ul-Qureshi (Pak) 6-2, 6-1; Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Shamal Dissanayake (Sri) 6-4, 7-5. Doubles: Final: Ramkumar Ramanathan & Vijay Sundar Prashanth bt Divij Sharan & Sanam Singh 6-3, 6-4. Mixed doubles: Final: Divij Sharan & Ankita Raina bt Sanam Singh & Prarthana Thombare 6-2, 7-6(3).
Women: Final: Ankita Raina bt Prerna Bhambri 6-1, 6-0. Doubles (semifinals): Sharmadaa Baluu & Prarthana Thombare bt Amritha Muttiah & Medhira Samarasinghe (Sri) 6-1, 6-1, Rishika Sunkara & Natasha Palha bt Thisuri Molligoda & Nethmie Waduge (Sri) 6-2, 6-0.
