xtratime Logo

[caption id="attachment_19741" align="alignnone" width="580"] Sania-Prarthana pair crashed out losing first match of women's doubles. IOA[/caption] Internet Desk: Another blow from Rio arrived as Indian Medal hope Sania Mirza and Prarthana Thombare pair lost in their first match in the women’s double. The Indian pairing lost 6-7, 7-5, 7-5 to Chinese pairing of Shuai Zhang and Shuai Peng. It was a tough match between the two pairs. Indian pairs also stole the show with their sharp shots. The two hours and 44minutes match was witnessed by Indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar. Even Leander Paes, who was present for a large part of the match, was visibly impressed with Thombare. Leading 5-4 in the first, they allowed the Chinese pair to get back into the match and allowed the tiebreaker to slip away. In the second set, the Indians took a 5-2 lead, let it slip but then peeled off two straight games to level the match. But just as the glimmer of hope appeared, it went up in smoke again with serve getting broken and soon enough the Chinese pairing closed matters in the morning hours of Sunday in India. The final set was a see-saw battle as well with Mirza blasting some of her trademark forehands, sprinkled with some errors. Thombare was broken at 5-5 and the Chinese pair held their nerve to finish the match off. Sania still has a Medal hope in the mixed-doubles pairing Rohan Bopanna. Defending their performance Sania said, “We just played a two hour, 44-minute match against the people who are the best in the world. So are the other 15 teams."