Four years after winning her first Asian Games medal as a 15-year-old in Busan, Sania Mirza returned to the Asian Games as one of India’s biggest tennis stars.
And in Doha, she took the next step.
The 2006 Asian Games produced four Indian tennis medals — two gold and two silver. Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi retained their men’s doubles crown, Paes and Sania Mirza won mixed-doubles gold, Sania added a silver in women’s singles, and India’s women’s team finished with silver.
For Sania, it was a three-medal Games.
For Lee-Hesh, it was another Asian Games title.
And for Indian tennis, Doha became another important chapter in a story that was gathering momentum.
Doha 2006
The 15th Asian Games were held in Doha, Qatar, from December 1 to 15, 2006.
The tennis competition was staged at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex from December 4 to 14.
India’s four tennis medals were:
🥇 Leander Paes / Mahesh Bhupathi — Men’s Doubles
🥇 Leander Paes / Sania Mirza — Mixed Doubles
🥈 Sania Mirza — Women’s Singles
🥈 Ankita Bhambri, Isha Lakhani, Sania Mirza & Shikha Uberoi — Women’s Team
Lee-Hesh defend the crown
The men’s doubles brought back one of Indian tennis’s most recognizable partnerships.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi — Lee-Hesh — were back together at the Asian Games.
They had won the men’s doubles gold in Busan four years earlier and entered Doha as the top seeds.
Their route to the final included victories over Hong Kong’s Yu Hiu Tung and Wong Wing, Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan, and South Korea’s Kwon Oh-hee and Kim Dong-hyun.
The final against Thailand’s twin brothers Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana was anything but straightforward.
The Thai pair took the opening set 7–5.
Paes and Bhupathi then fought back in a dramatic second set, saving seven match points before taking it 7–6(7).
They completed the comeback by winning the deciding set 6–3.
After almost three hours, Lee-Hesh had done it again.
Gold for India. Gold again for Lee-Hesh.
The victory meant Paes and Bhupathi successfully defended the men’s doubles title they had won in Busan in 2002.
Sania’s Doha breakthrough
But the biggest individual story of the Games belonged to Sania Mirza.
Four years earlier, she had arrived in Busan at just 15 and won mixed-doubles bronze alongside Paes.
By Doha, she was no longer the teenager making her Asian Games debut.
She was the fourth seed in women’s singles and one of the leading players in the draw.
Sania progressed through the singles draw, defeating Korea’s Yoo Mi 6–1, 6–4, Thailand’s Suchanun Viratprasert 6–3, 6–2, and then producing one of the biggest wins of her tournament.
In the semifinal, she defeated China’s Li Na, the top seed, 6–2, 6–2.
That victory guaranteed Sania a medal and sent her into the Asian Games singles final.
Silver in singles — but the story wasn’t over
The final brought another Chinese opponent: Zheng Jie.
Sania won the opening set 6–4, but Zheng fought back to take the second 6–1 and then dominated the deciding set 6–1.
Sania finished with the women’s singles silver medal.
It was her second Asian Games medal of the Games.
But she wasn’t finished yet.
There was still mixed doubles.
Paes and Sania go for gold
Sania teamed up with Leander Paes in mixed doubles.
The top-seeded Indian pair moved through the draw with wins over Uzbekistan’s Murad Inoyatov and Dilyara Saidkhodjaeva, Thailand’s Sonchat Ratiwatana and Montinee Tangphong, and China’s Yu Xinyuan and Sun Tiantian.
The final was against Japan’s Satoshi Iwabuchi and Akiko Morigami.
It became another three-set battle.
India won the first set 7–5.
Japan levelled the match by taking the second 7–5.
In the deciding set, Paes and Sania raced to a 4–0 lead and eventually closed it out 6–2.
Gold for India.
For Paes, it was his second gold of the day.
For Sania, it was her first Asian Games gold medal.
And just like that, Sania had gone from a 15-year-old bronze medallist in Busan to a three-medal winner in Doha.
India’s women’s team adds another silver
India’s women’s team brought home another silver medal from Doha, adding to Sania Mirza’s individual silver and mixed-doubles gold.
The team comprised Sania Mirza, Shikha Uberoi, Ankita Bhambri and Isha Lakhani. All four were active members of India’s Fed Cup squad that year, giving the Asian Games team a strong blend of established international experience and young Indian talent.
The campaign began with a 2–1 quarter-final victory over Thailand. India then defeated Uzbekistan 2–0 in the semifinal, setting up a gold-medal clash with Chinese Taipei.
In the final, Chinese Taipei won the tie 2–1, leaving India with the silver medal.
A team of four different stories
Sania Mirza was already the team’s leading name. At Doha, she was the fourth seed in singles, reached the singles final, won mixed-doubles gold with Leander Paes and also contributed to the women’s team campaign. By the end of the Games, she had collected three medals.
Shikha Uberoi brought international experience to the side. She had reached the quarter-finals of the 2005 Sunfeast Open in Kolkata, becoming only the second player representing India to reach a WTA Tour singles quarter-final at the time. In 2006, she was ranked inside the world’s top 200 and represented India at the Asian Games.
Ankita Bhambri was another important member of the Indian women’s tennis setup. The Delhi player had already represented India in the Fed Cup and had won multiple ITF titles. In 2006, she reached the second round of the Bangalore Open and also won an ITF title in New Delhi. Her highest career singles ranking eventually reached No. 332, while she reached No. 299 in doubles.
Isha Lakhani, from Mumbai, was another rising member of the national team. She had turned professional in 2001 and was also part of India’s 2006 Fed Cup squad. During that year’s Fed Cup campaign in Seoul, she defeated the Philippines’ Denise Dy 6–0, 7–6(3) in the opening tie. Lakhani would go on to reach a career-high No. 291 in singles and win four ITF singles titles during her professional career.
The four therefore arrived in Doha with different levels of experience, but together they formed the Indian women’s team that reached the Asian Games final.
And while the final ended in silver, the result gave Indian tennis another important women’s team medal — and added yet another achievement to what was becoming a remarkable Asian Games career for Sania Mirza.
From Doha to the next generation
By 2006, Indian tennis had already established itself as a regular presence on the Asian Games podium.
But Doha showed something else.
The torch was beginning to pass.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi were still winning gold.
Sania Mirza was collecting medals.
And the next editions would bring a new generation into the story.
The Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games begin on September 19, with the Games running through October 4. As Indian tennis prepares for another Asian Games campaign, the journey from 1966 Bangkok to Doha 2006 offers a reminder of just how much history sits behind the next medal.
The next chapter is almost here. 🇮🇳🎾
Sources
- Indian Olympic Association — Asian Games Doha 2006
Indian Olympic Association — Doha 2006 medal record - Rediff — Paes-Bhupathi win men’s doubles
Rediff — Paes-Bhupathi win men’s doubles - Rediff — Paes-Sania win mixed doubles gold
Rediff — Paes-Sania win mixed doubles gold - Hindustan Times — Gold for Lee-Hesh, silver for Sania
Hindustan Times — Gold for Lee-Hesh, silver for Sania - Hindustan Times — Paes-Sania win mixed doubles gold
Hindustan Times — Paes-Sania win mixed doubles gold - Times of India — India in line for a tennis medal treble
Times of India — Asiad: India in line for a triplet in tennis - Times of India — Sania, Paes-Bhupathi move into semifinals
Times of India — Sania, Paes-Bhupathi move into semis - Telegraph India — Doha results
Telegraph India — Doha tennis results - Olympedia — Sania Mirza
Olympedia — Sania Mirza - Aichi-Nagoya 2026 — Official Games website
Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Official Website