In a big ticket match, it’s the experience that counts. India’s veteran racquet stars Rohan Bopanna, 43, and Saurav Ghosal, 37, proved this on Saturday as they played stellar roles to help the country win Asian Games gold medals in mixed doubles tennis and men’s team squash events here respectively on Saturday.
In the tennis final, Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale, 27, beat Chinese Taipei 2-6, 6-3, 10-4, while in squash, Ghosal, Mahesh Mangaonkar and Abhay Singh conquered a power-packed Pakistan 2-1.

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The similarities between both finals are stunning. A nervous Bhosale, 27, began the match by missing some easy returns before Bopanna helped lift her game and excel in the super tie-break. In the squash final, Mangaonkar lost his opening match to Pakistan’s Nasir Iqbal 0-3 before Ghosal stepped in to level the tie with a 3-0 win over Asim Khan. In the decider, Ghosal’s animated chats on the sidelines with Abhay, 25, during his match breaks, inspired the youngster to a thrilling 3-2 win over Noor Zaman.