Kallang: India’s presence in the Singapore Open 2024 BWF Super 750 tournament received a boost as the women’s doubles duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand surged into the quarterfinals.
The Indian pair delivered a stunning upset by defeating second seeds and reigning All England champions Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee in a thrilling encounter lasting 59 minutes. Despite facing a tough challenge, Treesa and Gayatri displayed remarkable resilience to secure a hard-fought victory with a scoreline of 21-9, 14-21, 21-15.
ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICENT 🤩💯
Treesa/Gayatri get the better of WR-2 Baek/Lee 🇰🇷 in a 3-game thriller to enter quarterfinals in style 🔥
📸: @badmintonphoto@himantabiswa | @sanjay091968 | @Arunlakhanioffi #SingaporeOpen2024#IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/Boxlej1YOu
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) May 30, 2024
Their impressive performance ensures India’s continued representation in the tournament. Up next, Treesa and Gayatri are set to take on Olympic bronze medallists Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong of South Korea in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, in a dramatic showdown at the in Kallang, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu faced a formidable challenge against world No. 3 Carolina Marin. Despite putting up a fierce fight, Sindhu faced defeat in the second round, with Marin clinching victory in a nail-biting three-game encounter lasting one hour and eight minutes.
This marks Sindhu’s sixth consecutive loss to Marin, with her last triumph over the Spanish ace dating back to the Malaysia Open 2018 quarterfinals. The rivalry between the two badminton stalwarts traces back to the Rio 2016 Olympic final, where Marin emerged triumphant.
Sindhu, who is now ranked 12th in the world badminton rankings, got the match started well on Thursday. She handily won the opening game by establishing her authority early on. But after winning the second game, world No. 3 Marin found her concentration again and forced a decider.
Even though Sindhu had the advantage of 18-15 at one point in the third game, Marin was able to rally herself back into the nail-biter to wrap up the win. As a result, Marin currently has a 12-6 head-to-head record advantage over Sindhu.
In the second round of the Singapore Open, HS Prannoy, the top men’s singles player in India, was also ousted. Tenth-ranked Prannoy fell to Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto, who is rated eleventh in the world, 21-13, 14-21, 21-15 in 78 minutes.However, the women’s doubled pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand made it to the quarterfinals, keeping India’s challenge in the tournament alive.
The Indian pair upset second seeds and reigning All England champions Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee to register a 21-9, 14-21, 21-15 victory in a match that lasted for 59 minutes. The Treesa-Gayatri pair will next face Olympic bronze medallists Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong of South Korea in the quarter-finals on Friday.
