The men’s doubles combination of G. Sathiyan and Anthony Amalraj ended their Australian Open campaign with a bronze medal after they went down 14-12, 11-9, 11-8 against the top-seeded Korean pairing of Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu on Friday.
This was the first ever medal for India in the Australian Open, which is a World Tour Platinum event.
The top Korean pair could not be pinned down despite being extended in the first game.
However, the Indian duo can take pride in the fact that they had beaten the other Korean pair in the fray, Jang Woojin, and Lim Jonghoon, in the quarterfinals. The Indians won 5-11, 11-6, 14-12, 11-8 on Friday morning.
The lone bronze was the only silver lining as other Indians failed to cross the preliminary-round hurdles in all events, including Sathiyan and Sharath Kamal, the only two Indians who could make it to the third round of qualifying matches in men singles before bowing out. The others faded out earlier.