Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand (PTI Photo/Nand Kumar) India’s defending champions Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament. On Saturday, they secured a straight games win over the Malaysian pair of Ong Xin Yee and Carmen Ting.It was only their second tournament since Gayatri’s return from a five-month layoff due to a shoulder injury. The Indian duo displayed excellent tactical play and control to secure a 21-11 21-15 win against the world No.33 Malaysian pair.In the opening game, Treesa and Gayatri took control from 8-7 to build an 11-7 lead. They maintained their dominance and sealed the game after the opponents committed two unforced errors.The second game proved to be more competitive as the Malaysian pair battled hard. The score remained tight until Treesa and Gayatri took a slight 11-10 lead at the break.The Indian pair created a crucial gap at 17-14 and secured five match points as their opponents sent the shuttle long. The game ended with Ting sending another long shot, giving the Indians the win.Treesa and Gayatri will face Japanese eighth seeds Kaho Osawa and Mai Tanabe in Sunday’s final, who are looking to defend their title.In the women’s singles semi-finals, India’s campaign ended with both players facing defeats. Unnati Hooda lost 15-21 10-21 to Turkey’s Neslihan Arın.Tanvi Sharma, who earlier upset former world champion Nozomi Okuhara, was beaten 17-21 16-21 by Japan’s Hina Akechi.Indian pair Hariharan Amsakarunan, Treesa were eliminated in the mixed doubles. They lost 17-21 19-21 to Indonesia’s Dejan Ferdinansyah and Bernadine Anindya Wardana.
