New Delhi: Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand upset seventh seeds Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanishi of Japan to become the first Indian women’s doubles pair to reach the BWF World Championships quarterfinals in 11 years, while two-time bronze medallist Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty eked out a thrilling win even as PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty crashed out at the Indira Gandhi Stadium on Thursday.
World No. 39 Treesa/Gayatri were clearly the better of the two pairs in action as they registered a 21-16, 21-12 win to set up a last-eight clash against fourth seeds Jia Yi Fan/Zhang Shi Xian of China.
Later, Satwik/Chirag held their nerves after losing a close opening game to beat Junaidi Arif/Yap Roy King of Malaysia 21-23, 21-19, 21-17 to reach the last eight, where they will face Chinese third seeds Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang.
However, Sindhu’s hopes of a sixth World Championships medal were shattered after she went down 21-11, 15-21, 21-17 against third seed Wang Zhi Yi of China, and giant-killer Ayush Shetty’s campaign ended with a 21-19, 21-11 loss against Alwi Farhan of Indonesia.
On either side of the singles losses, the two doubles combinations kept hopes of India continuing its medal streak that started in 2011 alive with contrasting victories.
Treesa and Gayatri, who had broken into the world top-10 before injuries pegged them back, took the initiative from the start against their Japanese opponents and mixed things up with Treesa willing to charge to the net and create openings despite being a predominantly back-court player.
The home favourites opened up a 13-9 lead in the opening game before Iwanaga and Nakanishi began engaging them in longer rallies and inducing errors. The Japanese won seven consecutive points, and it looked like they could run away with the opening game. But Treesa and Gayatri not only regrouped well but also won the next eight points to pocket the opening game.
The second game was a much simpler affair as the Indians were clearly on a high after winning the opening game and kept their opponents guessing with quick drops and crosscourt smashes to win in 44 minutes.
No Indian women’s doubles combination had reached the world championships quarters since Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa reached the last eight stage back in the 2015 edition in Jakarta. “Initially, it was neck and neck, and our coaches asked us to attack. Attacking game is our strength, and we were very calm when we were leading,” said Gayatri.
In the last match of the day, Satwik and Chirag saved two game points in the opening game against the Malaysians but still conceded the game. But the Indians held their nerves in the second game and fought back from 16-18 down to take the match in the decider.
The final game also followed a similar pattern as Satwik and Chirag trailed 12-15, before levelling the scores at 17-17 and then grabbing the next four points to seal a quarterfinal berth.
Earlier, former world champion Sindhu played her heart out against third seed Wang of China but could not end on the right side of the final scoreline after a bruising 88-minute encounter that saw the Chinese player down on the court due to cramps twice in the decider. The loss also ended her unbeaten record against the Chinese in the world championships.
Sindhu struggled to find her rhythm in the opening game but raised her game in the second, winning six straight points from 15-15 to force the decider.
In the decider, Sindhu was the first to get off the blocks as she opened up an 8-4 lead before a couple of errors allowed Wang to draw level at 9-9. Sindhu once again grabbed the initiative to take a 13-10 lead but looked tired as her tentative pushes went into the net and her opponent finally took the lead by clinching five straight points.
Both players were engaged in at least three over-30-shot rallies thereafter, including the 54-shot exchange at 17-18, leaving both of them completely exhausted. Wang, the younger of the two, finally closed things with a crosscourt smash.
“I should have stayed patient (in the third game). It was going well, and I am disappointed with the final result as I should have converted the advantage,” Sindhu said after the match.
Important results:
Men’s singles: 7-Victor Lai (CAN) bt 13-Loh Kean Yew (SGP) 22-20, 21-18; Rasmus Gemke (DEN) bt 3-Jonatan Christie (INA) 11-21, 21-13, 21-18; 11-Alwi Farhan (INA) bt Ayush Shetty (IND) 21-19, 21-11; 10-Kodai Naraoka (JPN) bt 8-Li Shi Feng (CHN) 13-21, 23-21, 21-11
Women’s singles: 1-An Se Young (KOR) bt 16-Mia Blichfeldt (DEN) 21-16, 21-10; 10-Pornpawee Chochuwong (THA) bt 4-Chen Yufei (CHN) 15-21, 25-23, 21-17; 13-Michelle Li (CAN) bt 8-Tomoka Miyazaki (JPN) 17-21, 21-16, 21-18; 2-Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) bt 14-Sim You Jin (KOR) 21-17, 21-10; 15-Line Chirstophersen (DEN) bt 6-Putri Wardani (INA) 21-18, 21-17; 3-Wang Zhi Yi (CHN) bt 9-PV Sindhu (IND) 21-11, 15-21, 21-17
Men’s doubles: 5-Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND) bt Junaidi Arif/Yap Roy King (MAS) 21-23, 21-19, 21-17; 3-Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (CHN) bt Kim Astrup/Anders Rasmussen (DEN) 22-20, 8-21, 21-19
Women’s doubles: Gayatri Gopichand/Treesa Jolly (IND) bt 7-Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanishi (JPN) 21-16, 21-12; 4-Jia Yi Fan/Zhang Shu Xian bt Hsieh Pei Shan/Hung En-Tzu (TPE) 21-11, 21-18; 13-Febriana Kusuma/Meilysa Puspitasari (INA) bt 5-Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan (MAS) 20-22, 21-18, 21-12;
Mixed doubles: 6-Guo Xin Wa/Chen Fang Hui (CHN) bt 15-Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto (IND) 21-16, 21-5; 11-Yang Po-Husan/Hu Ling Fang (TPE) bt 3-Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Boje (DEN) 21-13, 9-21, 21-14
(IANS)
