By REY C. LACHICA
HANGZHOU, China – Alex Eala and Francis Alcantara continued to impress, beating Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum and Jones Maximus Parapol, 6-4, 6-4, on Thursday, Sept. 28, to advance to the semis, a feat that guaranteed them a bronze medal in the mixed doubles of the tennis competitions in the 19th Asian Games here.
Both playing for the first time in the continental showpiece, Eala and Alcantara will face Chinese-Taipei-1 in the semis on Friday for a chance at winning the country’s first tennis gold.
For advancing to the semis, Eala is certain to become the first Filipino athlete to bring home two medals since Fil-Am Cecil Mamiit won two medals – men’s singles and doubles – in the 2006 Doha edition.
Eala, however, started her day ominously after losing to No. 1 seed and US Open quarterfinalist Zheng Qinwen of China in the semis of the women’s singles, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, at the city’s Olympic Tennis Centre.
While she bungled the golden chance to beat one of Asia’s rising stars, Eala can take comfort from the fact that she was able to push Qinwen to the max.
For a while, Eala, 18, appeared headed to scoring a huge upset over her 21-year-old rival after taking a 3-1 lead in the deciding third set in a game she capped with a sizzling return.
But to the horror of her supporters, Eala’s magic suddenly disappeared, limited to just four points the rest of they way.
But while Eala was looking tired and weary – no thanks to a tiring 3-set win in the doubles Wednesday night against the top-seeded pair of Yuki Bhambri and Ankita Ravinderkrishan Raina of India – the Chinese bet was gaining momentum like a typhoon that saw her unleash a volume of wicked forehand winners to start her own comeback.
In the 8th game, Eala was held scoreless and that proved the end of her as Qinwen took a 5-3 advantage.
