Also Read: Pogba’s doping hearing set for January 18

The 2017 French Open mixed doubles champion will be taking a lot of heart from his outing at the Asian Games with Bhosale, who, at 27, played perfect partner to the domineering stature that Bopanna holds on court. Bopanna reflected positively on his partnership with Bhosale, particularly recalling the gold medal match against Chinese Taipei pair’s En-shuo Liang and Tsung-hao Huang.

Poll

Who will win the Punjab Elections?

BJP 32.86%

AAP 41.43%

INC 25.71%

Submit

View All In Poll

“When I decided to play with Rutuja, I had a brief idea of how she plays. She has a big forehand, so I thought it could make a good combination where I would be using my six-foot-three presence at the net and she’d be hitting down strokes and intimidate opponents. I went there with one goal, which was to get that gold medal for the country. I wouldn’t have settled for anything less,” Bopanna said. The Davis Cup veteran spoke fondly of his partnership with Ebden too, revealing how he put additional focus on fitness as he did not want to let the Australian down. 

‘Playing with Ebden is fun’

“I told my coach and physiotherapist that I had certain priorities, and that made a difference. Being mentally strong is one of my strengths, but physically if I get stronger, and be pain-free, automatically I start being better on court. The partnership made a huge difference and to have someone calm on the court, it was fun,” Bopanna signed off.