The 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou marked a changing of the guard in Indian tennis.
With Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi absent from the competition, the spotlight shifted to a new generation. At the centre of it stood Somdev Devvarman, who arrived in Guangzhou having already won singles gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
By the end of the Games, Somdev had gone a step further: two Asian Games gold medals, in singles and men’s doubles, and a bronze as part of India’s men’s team.
India finished the tennis competition with five medals — two gold, one silver and two bronze — placing second on the tennis medal table behind Chinese Taipei.
A new-look Indian team
India entered Guangzhou without its previous-generation doubles combination of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, who were competing at the ATP World Tour Finals in London. Rohan Bopanna was also absent. That left the door open for players such as Somdev Devvarman, Sanam Singh, Vishnu Vardhan and Karan Rastogi.
For Somdev, however, the opportunity was much bigger than simply filling a vacant spot.
The 25-year-old had already established himself as one of India’s leading singles players. After moving to the University of Virginia, he won back-to-back NCAA singles titles in 2007 and 2008, becoming one of the standout collegiate players of his generation. He turned professional in 2008 and reached the Chennai Open final in 2009.
Just weeks before Guangzhou, he had won the singles gold at the Delhi Commonwealth Games.
Now came the Asian Games.
Somdev’s singles run
Somdev was the second seed in the men’s singles draw, with Uzbekistan’s world No. 40 Denis Istomin seeded first.
He opened his campaign with a bye before producing a pair of commanding victories.
Round 2:
Somdev def. Jabor Mohammed Al Mutawa (Turkmenistan) 6–0, 6–0
Round 3:
Somdev def. Vaja Uzakov (Uzbekistan) 6–1, 6–1
The quarterfinal brought a tougher test against China’s Zhang Ze, but Somdev prevailed 6–4, 6–4.
Then came Japan’s Tatsuma Ito in the semifinal.
Somdev took the first set 6–2, but Ito responded emphatically, taking the second 6–0. With a place in the final at stake, Somdev recovered to win the decider 6–3.
It was a significant moment: Somdev became the first Indian man to reach the Asian Games men’s singles final. India had previously won three men’s singles bronze medals — Leander Paes in 1994, and Mahesh Bhupathi and Srinath Prahlad in 1998 — but had never reached the gold-medal match.
The final: Somdev vs Denis Istomin
The final brought Somdev face-to-face with the tournament’s top seed.
Istomin was the higher-ranked player and had entered the tournament as the defending momentum of the Uzbek challenge. Somdev, however, produced arguably his most authoritative performance of the tournament.
He raced past Istomin 6–1, 6–2 to become India’s first Asian Games men’s singles champion.
The victory gave Somdev his second major multi-sport singles title in less than two months, following his Commonwealth Games triumph in Delhi.
Then came the doubles gold
Somdev’s Guangzhou campaign was not limited to singles.
He partnered Sanam Singh in the men’s doubles, and the sixth-seeded Indian pair navigated their way through a difficult draw.
After a first-round bye, they defeated:
- Johnny Arcilla/Ruben Gonzalez (Philippines) — 6–4, 6–2
- Bai Yan/Zhang Ze (China) — 6–2, 6–4
- Yi Chu-huan/Lee Hsin-han (Chinese Taipei) — 6–4, 7–6(3)
That put them into the final against China’s Gong Maoxin and Li Zhe, the second seeds.
The final became a tense battle.
Somdev and Sanam took the opening set 6–3, but the Chinese pair fought back to take the second-set tie-break 7–4.
With the title coming down to a deciding match tie-break, the Indians held their nerve.
Somdev Devvarman/Sanam Singh def. Gong Maoxin/Li Zhe
6–3, 6–7(4), [10–8]
The gold belonged to a pair that had been asked to carry the responsibility left behind by Paes and Bhupathi.
Bronze in the team event
Somdev’s tournament had started with the men’s team event.
India’s team comprised Somdev Devvarman, Karan Rastogi, Sanam Singh and Vishnu Vardhan.
They received a first-round bye before defeating Qatar 3–0 and Thailand 2–1 to reach the semifinals. There, India lost 1–2 to Chinese Taipei, earning the bronze medal.
That bronze meant Somdev had already secured a medal before beginning his individual campaigns.
By the end of the Games, he had collected three medals: two gold and one bronze.
Sania and Vishnu add silver
India’s other major success came in mixed doubles.
Sania Mirza and Vishnu Vardhan, seeded sixth, advanced through four rounds, defeating:
- Sun Shengnan/Bai Yan (China) — 6–3, 4–6, [12–10]
- Chuang Chia-jung/Yi Chu-huan (Chinese Taipei) — 2–6, 6–4, [10–4]
- Tamarine Tanasugarn/Sanchai Ratiwatana (Thailand) — 6–3, 6–7(3), [10–5]
In the final, they faced Chinese Taipei’s Chan Yung-jan and Yang Tsung-hua.
The Indian pair won the opening set 6–4, but the Taiwanese combination levelled the match 6–1 before taking the deciding super tie-break 10–2.
Sania and Vishnu therefore took silver.
Sania adds another bronze
Sania also reached the women’s singles semifinal.
She defeated Hong Kong’s Venise Chan 6–1, 6–0, China’s Zhang Shuai 6–2, 6–2, and Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn 6–2, 6–3 before meeting Uzbekistan’s Akgul Amanmuradova.
Amanmuradova won the semifinal 6–7(7), 6–3, 6–4, leaving Sania with the bronze medal.
It gave Sania her second medal of the Games, alongside her mixed doubles silver.
India finishes second in tennis
When the final medals were counted, Guangzhou had produced one of India’s most successful Asian Games tennis campaigns.
India’s 2 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze placed it second in the tennis medal table, behind Chinese Taipei’s 3 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze. China finished third with 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze.
For Somdev, though, the numbers tell only part of the story.
He had arrived in Guangzhou as the second seed and left as a double Asian Games champion, having become the first Indian man to win the men’s singles title.
The torch had been passed.
🇮🇳 Asian Games Fact File — Guangzhou 2010
Games: 16th Asian Games
Host city: Guangzhou, China
Games dates: 12–27 November 2010
Tennis venue: Aoti Tennis Centre
Indian tennis medals: 5
Gold: 2
Silver: 1
Bronze: 2
Tennis medal-table position: 2nd
Indian tennis standout: Somdev Devvarman — 2 Gold + 1 Bronze
Sources
- Tennis at the 2010 Asian Games — Wikipedia
- Indian Olympic Association — Guangzhou 2010
- Olympic Council of Asia — Guangzhou 2010
- NDTV — Somdev wins men’s singles gold
- India Today — Somdev-Sanam win doubles gold
- ESPN — Somdev Devvarman profile