China wins women's doubles gold in Asian Games tennis

PALEMBANG, Indonesia - Chinese Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan won the women's doubles tennis gold medal at the ongoing Asian Games on Saturday.

Played at the Jakabaring Sports City (JSC), the Chinese pair outplayed Chan Haoching/Chan Yunjan of Chinese Taipei in full sets 6-2, 1-6 and 11-9 in the final.

Xu said the victory was very meaningful as it's the first time and would also be the last time for her and her teammate since she could no longer play in the Asian Games in the future.

"Winning this match is very meaningful. The Asian Games is different from any other professional tournaments, which combines it all. This is the first win in the Asian Games that probably would be my last time. I feel very honored to win this final match," Xu told a press conference on the sidelines of the final match.

The 30-year-old Yang said winning a gold medal with Xu was a great honor for her as Xu is a senior tennis player in China, and their way not easy as they had to survive tough matches en route to the Asiad final.

"But we were enjoying those matches very much. We always tried our best to collect point by point that eventually paid off and won those matches," Yang added.

En route to the fianl, the Chinese pair brushed aside Nicha Lertpitaksinchai/Plipuech Peantarn of Thailand in the quarterfinals, and Miyu Kato/Ninomiya Makoto of Japan in semifinals who got the bronze medals later.

The Chinese pair are scheduled to play the US Open, both singles and doubles, in a few days.

On Friday, Wang Qiang awarded China its first tennis gold medal from the women's singles at the 18th Asian Games, beating Zhang Shuai in an all-Chinese final to retain her crown which she won in the 2014 Incheon Asiad.