India's Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna lost 6-1, 7-5 in the bronze medal match to the Czech pair of Radek Stepanek and Lucie Hradecka. The match lasted 71 minutes.
Sania and Bopanna had earlier lost in the semifinal to USA's Rajeev Ram and Venus Williams.
The Indian pair looked jaded from their efforts yesterday as Bopannna was broken in the second game of the match. The Indians continued to struggle as a Stepanek volley helped the Czechs race to a 4-0 lead within 20 minutes of the match. The Czechs increased the lead to 5-0 on Stepanek's serve as Hradecka completed an easy volley.
Bopanna finally managed to hold serve in the sixth game as the Indians won their first game, but a big serve from Hradecka helped the Czechs win the first set 6-1 in 27 minutes.
Bopanna served three double faults in the first game of the second set as the fourth-seeded Indians were broken again in the first game. The Indians broke back in the next game as Stepanek served a double fault, his first of the match. The Indians broke Hradecka's serve in the fourth game to go up 3-1 as Sania blasted a trademark forehand on break point. There were as many as four breaks in the first five games of the second set as Bopanna was broken again in the fifth game.
The next five games were played out on serve before Sania was broken in the 11th game. Hradecka held her nerve well to serve out the match with the Czechs leading 6-5. The second set lasted 44 minutes.
After the game, a visibly distraught Sania and Bopanna struggled to come to terms with the result.
"It's tough. It's not easy to lose, and it's also not easy to come out and speak now. We have to accept it and move on," Sania said. "It's really hard. The Olympics come every four years, and right now I don't know if I'll play the next Olympics. But that's sport. It will take some time to get over it."
Sania's words were echoed by Bopanna, who too was reeling in the disappointment.
"Right now, it's really hard to focus. We've had two close defeats in 24 hours, and that's how it goes. Sometimes, you put your best foot and still lose. I just want to get through today."