AICHI-NAGOYA, Sept 26: Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand produced a stunning performance at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, defeating Japan’s World No. 3 women’s doubles pair Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto in straight games to keep India’s hopes alive in the women’s badminton team quarter-final.
The Indian duo, fresh from their World Championships bronze-medal run, held their nerve in a fiercely contested opening game before winning 21-17. They then maintained their composure in the second game to complete a 21-16 victory.
With India trailing Japan 0-2 after PV Sindhu and Unnati Hooda lost their respective singles matches, Treesa and Gayatri walked onto court under immense pressure.
They responded emphatically.
The Indian pair stayed aggressive and composed through the rallies, refusing to allow the experienced Japanese combination to dictate the tempo. Their victory reduced the deficit to 1-2 and gave India a chance to stay in the tie.
The win was particularly significant considering Fukushima and Matsumoto entered the contest as the world No. 3 combination. India had identified the in-form Treesa-Gayatri pair as a key match-up before the quarter-final.
However, Japan eventually closed out the tie 3-1 after Nozomi Okuhara defeated Tanvi Sharma in the fourth rubber.
Despite India’s exit, Treesa and Gayatri’s performance stood out as one of the strongest individual displays of the women’s campaign.
Their victory also underlined the growing stature of the young Indian combination on the international stage.
Treesa-Gayatri 21-17, 21-16 Fukushima-Matsumoto.
