Grown-up men whispering conspiratorially to each other,their faces screened by their palms the scene is never really thought of as being unusual in mens doubles tennis,odd as it may seem in most other walks of life. Tactics,strategy,grand designs of comebacks? Could be all of these,or none. Somdev Devvarman and Sanam Singh could well have been trading campus gossip from Virginia Tech as they combined on court,who knows. Drawing from the intensity of US collegiate tennis borrowing the team spirit from those away-ties of the American autumn the duo today set the Aoti Tennis courts alight to retain Indias preserve from the last two editions of the Asiad,the mens doubles gold. Chinas Gong Maoxin and Li Zhe played slam-bang tennis,breathing fire and slashing forehands in front of a 5,000-strong,fiercely partisan crowd. But the dragon-venom failed to overwhelm the Indians,who finished 6-3,6-7 (4),10-8 winners. And a new champion was born,Sanam Singh. Old warhorses Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi had given Guangzhou a miss,opting to play the prestigious Tour season-ender with their respective partners,leaving the Games title defence to a clutch of youngsters. And as the golds came in a trickle in the first week of the Games,the wistful murmurs got louder. Devvarman had spent time on the bigger stage playing and winning matches in the ATPs and Challengers. But it was Singh who seemed to inhale the big-occasion pressure with only minor gulps of oxygen,biting his lip harder each time he served,emerging in the end the stand-out player in the final. The 22-year-old,still putting in the hard yards in Collegiate tennis,played like anything but a nervous journeyman. He sent down confident aces,put away sharp backhand volleys,and played languid passing forehand cross-courts past the scowling Chinese. The volley that earned the Indians a 7-4 lead in the third set super tie-break pitched him in the zone where he no longer looked like the youngster punching above his weight he looked like he belonged in the big league. He was in the zone today,and the win hasnt sunk in yet, coach Nandan Bal said later,a little after the two had sent their racquets flying in opposite directions after winning the game. He served great,didnt lose nerve when the Chinese let it rip and grabbed the opportunity to play for India with two hungry hands, said Bal. Singh,a former junior World No. 4 and arguably Indias most talented teenager when coming up,has another six months before hes thrown into the bullring called the Tour. The memories of today will stay with him,he said. This is the best moment of my life. This is the first time that Ive played for India,and to get gold with Somdev is unbelievable. Its a dream come true, said the Chandigarh lad,adding,We had to come out with energy,be ready and have a good match. Playing the Chinese in China was a challenge. But we didnt let the crowd get to us, said Singh. Of course,it helped to play alongside a friend on the big day here. If anyone was likely to know all the new emotions that Singh felt today,it was Vishnuvardhan Jagdeesan. The 23-year-old played with Sania Mirza to clinch the silver in the mixed doubles. In the first set,I was feeling out of place. Honestly,I thought I didnt belong here. But I am feeling so comfortable right now and I did very well when given an opportunity to play with a partner like Sania in the Asian Games. It was a huge thing for me, he said of his first appearance for the country. Vishnuvardhan was picked for his big serve,and he believes itll do wonders for his career. The last Asian Games brought in the medals,but also exposed deep fissures in the Indian team filled as it was with bickerings. Somdev and Sanam Singh today provided reminders of the doubles magic of a decade ago when Paes-Bhupathi ruled the courts together. As Indias original golden duo plan one last tango,Somdev-Sanam ensured the gold medal wasnt lost in the transition.
