Birmingham, Friday 17 March Indian young women’s doubles stars Gayatri Gopishande and Teresa Jolly continued their fine form as they reached their second successive semi-final of the prestigious English Open here .
In the women’s doubles quarter-final at the Axiata Arena, the Indian beat China’s Li Wenmei and Liu Xuanxuan 21-14, 18-21, 21-12 after losing the second set.
The world No. 17 Indian duo made a career breakthrough in the 2022 tournament as they advanced from the reserves to reach the semi-finals but struggled to lose in straight sets to China’s Zhang Shuxian and Yu Zheng.
Earlier in the tournament, Commonwealth Games bronze medalists Gayatri and Teresa Joli knocked out world No. 9 Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota of Japan in Thursday’s round of 16.
The young women’s doubles duo beat seventh-seeded Thai duo Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai 21-18, 21-14 for the Indians’ first victory over Thailand in five matches.
Treesa and Gayatri next face either eighth-seeded Indonesians Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti or South Korea’s Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee for their first berth in the final on Saturday.
Remarkably, the young women’s duo were the only remaining Indian challenges in the tournament, as last year’s finalists Lakshay Sen, HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth, and men’s doubles duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty competed in their respective second round matches. Withdrew from the game Thursday after the loss.
–IANS
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