Japan Open: Treesa-Gayatri advance, Dhruv Kapila-Radhika Sharma suffer early exit

India’s Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand got their Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 badminton campaign off to a winning start by defeating home favorites Hinata Suzuki and Nao Yamakita in straight games to enter the pre-quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Indian women’s doubles which won a bronze medal at the BWF World Championships in New Delhi earlier this year they secured a 21-17, 21-14 victory in 42 minutes in their Round of 32 encounter. Treesa and Gayatri kept their composure against the Japanese pair and closed out the contest in two games to book their place in the next round.

They will now face another Japanese combination of Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi for a place in the quarterfinals.

However, it was a disappointment for Dhruv Kapil and Radhika Sharma as the Indian mixed pair bowed out in the opening round of the qualifiers. They were defeated 16-21, 15-21 by the second seeded American combination of Chen Zhi Yi and Francesca Corbett.

India also had some success in the men’s doubles, where Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun advanced after their Malaysian opponents, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, withdrew injured just six minutes into their Round of 32 match.

The Indian pair built an 11-6 lead in the opening game when the Malaysians were forced to retire, giving Hariharan and Arjun a place in the next round. They will now wait for the result of the clash between the Japanese Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi and the Hong Kong Chinese Kuei Chun Hung and Chun Wai Lui to know their next opponents.

Meanwhile, India’s men’s singles campaign will see two household names take center stage with Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth kicking off their campaigns.

Eighth seed Lakshya will face Chinese Taipei’s Yu Jen Chi in his opening match, while Srikanth has been drawn against Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke. The schedule of both matches is not yet known.

With Treesa and Gayatri already through and Hariharan and Arjun undergoing a similar transition following the retirement of their opponents, India will look to build on the early momentum as the tournament progresses.

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