Top seeds Singapore’s Gao Ning and Yang Zi justified their exalted
position in the draw by securing gold in style in the Men’s Doubles
event at the Indian Open in Indore on Sunday 15th March 2009.
At
the final hurdle they doused host nation aspirations by overcoming
Sharath Kamal Achanta and Subhajit Saha in a contest where gradually
they asserted themselves on proceedings.
They won 14-12, 14-12, 11-5, 11-3 to add to their collection of silverware in international events.
Fourteenth Final
It
was the fourteenth time, including Volkswagen Pro Tour Grand Finals
that the Singaporeans had reached the final of a Men’s Doubles event on
the ITTF Pro Tour and gradually they are losing their reputation of
being the best man but never the groom.
Title Defended
Of
their first seven appearances in a Men’s Doubles final on the ITTF Pro
Tour they finished in runners up spot on no less than six occasions;
the one win being at the third attempt.
They won in 2007 in New Delhi at the Indian Open, two years later, they retained the title.
The
next final appearance saw them lose in Chinese Taipei in 2007 before
they put matters right later in the same year in Austria.
Suffered
In
their next four final appearances it was predominantly back to second
place; they suffered on three occasions. The lost at the final hurdle
in 2007 in Germany and Sweden and also they suffered in 2008 in Poland.
Better News
However,
since the defeat in Chile, matters have certainly taken a turn for the
better in their most recent appearances on the ITTF Pro Tour.
They
were crowned champions in December 2008 at the Volkswagen Pro Tour
Grand Finals in Macao and now they had made it two-in-a-row by winning
in India.
Best Performance
Meanwhile
for Sharath Kamal Achanta and Subhajit Saha, the performance in India
was by some distance their best on the ITTF Pro Tour.
It was the first time they have ever progressed beyond the first round!
In
2008 they negotiated the qualification stage successfully but suffered
opening round reverses in Brazil, Chile and Poland whilst one month
ago, in February 2009, it was the same story in Kuwait.
Previous Meetings
It
was the second time the two pairs had met, the previous occasions was
in the second round of the Men’s Doubles event at the China Mobile
Asian Championships in September 2007 in Yangzhou, China.
On that occasion, Gao Ning and Yang Zi won in three straight games; in Indore, they repeated the dose.
Source: www.ittf.com
