Asian Games: Treesa-Gayatri beat Japan to keep India alive in QF

Ichinomiya City: World Championships bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand kept India’s hopes alive in the badminton women’s team quarterfinal against Japan by defeating Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto in the third rubber here on Tuesday.

With India trailing 0-2 after PV Sindhu and Unnati Hooda lost their respective singles matches, Treesa and Gayatri produced a crucial straight-games victory over the world No. 3 Japanese pair, winning 21-17, 21-16.

The Indian duo made a strong start and maintained their composure to secure the must-win rubber and keep India in contention in the quarterfinal.

Earlier, Unnati Hooda lost to former world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi in the second rubber at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium, giving Japan a 2-0 lead.

Unnati was leading 11-10 at the interval in the opening game, but the Indian lost momentum after the break, allowing Yamaguchi to fight back and take the game 21-16.

The Indian made another strong start in the second game, building an 11-4 lead. However, as the game entered its closing stages, Yamaguchi turned the contest around and moved ahead 16-15. The Japanese shuttler then held her nerve to deny Unnati a comeback and closed out the match with an 18-21 win in the second game.

In the opening rubber, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu fought back from a 6-10 deficit and levelled the first game at 12-12. She then staged another comeback from 15-18 down and saved a game point before winning the opening game 23-21 against three-time world champion Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi, however, responded strongly to take the second game 21-18 and force a decider, which she dominated 21-11 to give Japan the early advantage.

India’s women have won only one Asian Games team medal, a bronze at the 2014 Incheon Games. At the 2023 edition, the Indian women’s team exited in the quarterfinals after suffering a 0-3 defeat to Thailand.

With IANS inputs