The Commonwealth Games bronze medal-winning duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand faced a tough challenge in the women’s doubles pre-quarters of the Hong Kong Open on Thursday. They fought hard against the second-seeded Chinese pair, Liu Sheng and Tan Ning, but ultimately fell short, losing 21-11, 22-20.
The first game saw the Chinese pair dominate, breaking away from a close 3-2 score to secure a comfortable 21-11 victory. However, the unseeded Indian duo bounced back with a strong performance in the second game. They pushed the Chinese pair all the way, battling to a tie at 15 and then again at 20-all. But in the end, the Chinese pair edged out the Indians 22-20, securing the win after a hard-fought 41-minute match.
This marks the second consecutive loss for Jolly and Gayatri against the third-ranked Chinese pair, who now lead the head-to-head record 2-1. Earlier in the tournament, the Indian duo had successfully navigated their opening round clash, defeating Ukraine’s Polina Buhrova and Yevheniia Kantemyr 21-14, 21-13.
Meanwhile, Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy remain the only other Indian pair competing in the BWF World Tour Super 500 event. They are set to face the eighth-seeded Malaysian pair, Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie, in the mixed doubles pre-quarters later in the day.
