Rio Olympics: Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna lose bronze medal tie

India's agonising wait for their first medal continued on the ninth day of the Rio Olympics as tennis stars Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna lost their bronze medal match against Czech Republican pair of Radek Stepanek and Lucie Hradecka in the mixed doubles event on 14 August.

Mirza and Bopanna were beaten 1-6, 5-7 by the Czech Republican pair in an enthralling contest that lasted one hour and 11 minutes at the Olympic Tennis Centre.

After being completely outplayed in the opening set, the Indian pair tried to lift their performance in the next set but came up short in their bid to force a super-tiebreaker.

Having defeated Andy Murray and Heather Watson in the quarterfinals, Sania and Bopanna was considered as favourites to bring India their first medal in the prestigious quadrennial event.

On Saturday, the Indian pair had squandered a one-set lead before losing the super-tiebreak to American pair of Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram in the mixed doubles semifinals.

India, which have sent their largest-ever contingent of 119 athletes in Rio Olympics, are yet to open their medal account in the ongoing Summer Games.