(Image source from: MSN.com)

Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan clinched another medal for India at the Asian Games 2018 and the introductory one in tennis, fetching the gold medal after beating the Kazakhstan pair of Aleksandr Bublik and Denis Yevseyev.

The top seeds in the men's doubles event Bopanna and Sharan cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 win in just 52 minutes.

The Indians were 4-1 ahead in less than 20 minutes into the match, breaking Bublik and Yevseyev at the very first opportunity they got.

The top seeds in no time were serving for the set with a 5-3 lead and Bopanna's flourishing serve wrapped it up in style for them.

The Kazakhs had their moments but were unfinished by erratic play - a brilliant cross-court backhand winner one moment and a powerless return buried in the nets the very next minute.

Bopanna and Sharan's effortless chumminess shone through in the match and they displayed near-perfect on-court coordination.

Displaying a good range of strokes to pull off some tough winners, helped by his brute power, Bopanna was peculiarly impressive from the baseline.

The second set went somewhat better for Bublik and Yevseyev yet they just could not strap in the unforced errors, including a double fault in the fifth game which could have cost them.

The Kazakhs had the quicker stamina between the two pairs but the Indians had the experience to contradict that.

At 3-3, Bopanna and Sharan clinched the all-important break to go up and though they were pushed a bit in the very next game, the top seeds held serve to grab a 5-3 lead.

The Kazakhs held on in the next game but it only delayed the inevitable.

India has enjoyed plenty of success in tennis over the years. In fact, they now have a men's doubles medal in five consecutive Asian Games thanks to this victory.

Surprisingly, this is Rohan Bopanna's maiden Asian Games medal. Earlier, Sharan has won a bronze in the same category in 2014 alongside Yuki Bhambri.

By Sowmya Sangam