Sania and Thombare were defeated by China at the Rio Games.
Sania and Thombare were defeated by China at the Rio Games.
RIO DE JANIERO (Diya TV) — The tandem of Sania Mirza and Prarthana Thombare put up a fight against China’s Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang in Olympic tennis play, but fell in a contest which lasted just under three hours.
Sania and Prarthana fell 6-7, 7-5, 5-7 in the match which lasted two hours and 44 minutes.
The duo kicked off the first set with a 2-0 lead, however, Peng and Zhang fought back, winning the next two sets to bring the match to level terms. On their serve set, the Chinese duo stole the 3-2 lead. The match was neck and neck, with Sania and Thombare grabbing back the 5-4 with a serve in hand.
Peng and Zhang would break the Indian’s serve to draw level once again at 5-5.
The second set looked to share much of the image the first had — Sania and Thombare pulled ahead with a commanding 4-1 lead, increasing their advantage to 5-2 at one point. Ever determined, Peng and Zhang fought back by winning three consecutive to return the match to level terms at 5-5.
A roller coaster from start to finish, India and China exchanged the lead on multiple more occasions. However, the Chinese would ultimately emerge victorious in the closing stages of the matchup, winning the final two games to seal the fates of Sania and Thombare.
