Treesa, Gayatri soar high

New Delhi: Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand continued their stunning run at the BWF World Championships, storming into the semifinals after rallying past fourth-seeded Chinese pair Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian on Friday.The unseeded Indians fought back from a game down to win 16-21, 21-15, 21-13 in 69 minutes, assuring India of their first and only medal at the championships this year. More significantly, they became the first Indian women’s doubles pair in 15 years to win a World Championships medal, since Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa claimed bronze in London in 2011.Badminton World Championhips: Treesa-Gayatri enter semis, assure India a medal The result came on a day when India’s other major medal hopefuls, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, bowed out in the men’s doubles quarterfinals. The world No. 5 Indians and defending champions were beaten 18-21, 9-21 in 36 minutes by China’s Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang, the world No. 3 pair and Paris Olympic silver medallists.The defeat left Treesa and Gayatri as the country’s only remaining contenders in the tournament.For the world No. 39 women’s pair, the turnaround was built on the speed and clarity of their game. After struggling to find their rhythm in the opening game, the Indians raised the tempo and refused to allow the Chinese pair to settle into the long, attritional rallies that are often a strength of top Chinese players. The Indian pair was quick around the court, took the shuttle early and looked to finish points before the exchanges could become extended battles.Treesa was particularly effective at the front, using her sharp reactions and attacking instincts to put pressure on the Chinese pair around the net. Gayatri, operating largely from the rear court, supplied the power and variation, repeatedly finding gaps with her smashes.The clarity in the structure was evident after the opening game. Rather than allowing Jia and Zhang to dictate the pace, Treesa and Gayatri began moving them around, pushing them into corners and then attacking the openings. A 43-shot rally in the second game showed that they could also stay composed when the exchanges stretched, but their preference was clearly to take the initiative and keep the rallies short.The home crowd at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium only added to their momentum as the Indians steadily wrested control from the fourth seeds.The contrast was stark when Satwik and Chirag took the court later in the evening. Their quarterfinal was expected to be a close contest between two of the world’s leading men’s doubles combinations. The Indians appeared to have seized control when they moved 18-16 ahead in the opening game but five consecutive points handed Liang and Wang the game.That collapse proved decisive as the Chinese pair carried the momentum into the second game while Satwik and Chirag struggled to reproduce the intensity of their earlier exchanges.Errors began creeping into their game, particularly at the net, and the Indians were soon unable to match the Chinese pair’s pace and precision. The 9-21 second game reflected a sharp drop-off from the contest they had appeared capable of winning moments earlier.Results: Prefix denotes seeding: Quarterfinals: Men: 7-Victor Lai (Can) bt Rasmus Gemke (Den) 21-19, 21-18; 10-Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) bt Anders Antonsen (Den) 21-19, 21-15; 9-Alex Lanier (Fra) bt 2-Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) 19-21, 21-16, 21-16; 11-Alwi Farhan (Ina) vs 6-Chou Tien Chen (Tpe)Doubles: India matches only: 5-Chirag Shetty / Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (Ind) lt to  3-Liang Weikeng / Wang Chang (Chn) 18-21, 9-21.Women: Singles: 10-Pornpawee Chochuwong (Tha) bt 11-Nozomi Okuhura (Jpn) via walkover; 2-Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt 13-Michelle Li (Can) 21-17, 21-10; 1-An Se Young (Kor) bt 5-Han Yue (Chn) 21-19, 21-12; 3-Wang Zhiyi (Chn) bt 15-Line Christophersen (Den) 21-7, 21-10.Doubles: India matches only: Treesa Jolly / Gayatri Gopichand (Ind) bt 4-Jia Yifan / Zhang Shuxian (Chn) 16-21, 21-15, 21-13.

Source: Deccan Herald