All England Open: Gayatri-Treesa pair makes second successive women's doubles semifinal

Birmingham, Mar 17, 2023, IANS

Continuing their scintillating form, India's young women's doubles sensation Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly on Friday sailed into their second succussive semifinal of the prestigious England Open Championships here.

The Indians defeated China's Li Wen Mei and Liu Xuan Xuan after coming from losing the second game to win 21-14, 18-21, 21-12 in the women's doubles quarterfinals played at the Axiata Arena.

The world No. 17 Indian pair had a major breakthrough in their career in the 2022 edition as they reached the semifinal after being promoted from the reserves but lost to the Chinese pair Shu Xian Zhang and Yu Zheng in straight games after putting up a great fight.

Earlier in the tournament, the Commonwealth Games bronze medallists pair of Gayatri and Treesa Jolly knocked out the world No. 9 Japanese pair of Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota in their round of 16 match on Thursday.

The teenage women's doubles pair started their campaign with a 21-18, 21-14 straight games victory against seventh seeds Thai pair Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai, which was the Indians' first win over the Thai pair in five meetings.

Next, Treesa and Gayatri will face either the eighth-seeded Indonesian pair of Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti or the Korean combination of Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee on Saturday for a place in their maiden final.

Notably, the young women's pair is the only Indian challenge left in the tournament as the last year's finalist Lakshay Sen, HS Prannoy, and Kidambi Srikanth, men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bowed out after suffering losses in their respective second round matches on Thursday.