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Lee-Hesh face Croatian pair in bronze medal playoff
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi might not have made it to the final but all is not lost for the Indian duo.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi might not have made it to the final but all is not lost for the 'Indian Express' yet at the Olympic Games.
Paes and Bhupathi, who were upset by the unseeded German duo Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schuettler 2-6 3-6 in the semi-finals on Thursday, can still fulfill their Olympic medal dreams by winning the men's doubles bronze.
The fifth seeded Indian pair, who came together after a gap of more than two years, play Croatia's Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic in the playoff match later on Friday.
"The goal was to get the gold medal but now we have to try and get something. It was a disappointing day for us, we just could not get going. It happens sometimes," Bhupathi said after the match on Thursday.
The team that did not drop a serve till the quarter-finals, went down in straight sets, leaving the Indian fans in a daze.
In fact, the Indians were the only seeded teams to reach the last-four stage.
Thursday's defeat, however, ended a fine streak by the 'Indian Express' which remained unconquered since their Sydney Games defeat to the Woodies in 2000.
It was only their second loss in 25 matches they have played for India in the last eight years.
Should Paes, bronze winner in the singles event at Atlanta in 1996, and Bhupathi win on Friday it would bring India its second tennis medal from the Olympics.
Ancic and Ljubicic, who entered as wild cards and ousted the third seeded French pair Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro on the way, and whom Paes and Bhupathi have not played before, will be hoping to win Croatia its third tennis medal.
