NEW DELHI: It was just their first win of the event but in some sense, this was an immense victory for the gradually-improving Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand in the India Open Super 750 tournament, which commenced on Tuesday. Up against Margot Lambert and Anne Tran, a pair whom they had lost twice in as many matches, the Indian women's doubles pair - both 19 years young — displayed their attacking instincts, and patience when the need arose and used their game intelligence to make course corrections when the match was not going in their favour. An apt definition of a 'fighting win', a term which is often used in the sporting world. They are through to the second round with Tuesday's effort.
Moreover, they'll be taking mental notes of all that transpired, an experience that could help them achieve their Olympic qualification aspirations. Gayatri was relieved to have gotten over the line against the French opponents in their third attempt. "It was amazing, playing at home. It was an intense match. I'm glad we could pull it off," she said. In the deciding game, the Indian youngsters were cruising at 17-11 at one stage but let that six-point lead slip to put the home crowd, who were egging the duo, on the edge.
"We just wanted to play safe on the court. We just wanted to fight. Some strategies weren't working," Gayatri reflected. But they managed to regain their focus just in time and get the all-important 'W' to their CV. "We were calm (in the last game) and composed in the last game. It was a good learning experience," Treesa said. The duo, who joined hands not so long back in 2021, is emitting signs that they're learning on the job in recent times and becoming a more-rounded pair. Just last season, they had surprised many by reaching the semifinals of the All-England Championship. Barely a few months later, they climbed the podium of the Commonwealth Games (bronze).
"The court (India Open) is slow, we need to be patient and play long rallies. Normally, the courts are fast on one side and slow on the other side but we need to adjust," Treesa assessed. Having entered the BWF World rankings at 433 in late 2021, the duo's steady development clearly reflects in their rankings. They are World No 16 and are an impressive No 9 in the World Tour rankings. If they can avoid injuries and continue to take their homework seriously, they have a more than fair chance of flying to Paris and making their presence felt there come 2024. Both have tall ambitions, and both have shown that they can wield their racquets with a good amount of success. Gayatri just wants to put her head down and continue the learning process and hope that injuries will not prove to be their undoing. "We want no injuries and we'll take part in tournaments accordingly," she signed off.
Select results (Indians)
Men's singles:
Lakshya Sen bt HS Prannoy 21-14, 21-15
Women's singles:
Supanida Katethong bt PV Sindhu 21-14, 22-20
Men's doubles:
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty bt Christopher Grimley/Matthew Grimley 21-13, 21-15
Panjala Goud Vishnuvardhan/Krishna Prasad Garaga bt Ruben Jille/Ties Van Der 21-11, 23-25, 21-9
Women's doubles:
Robin Tabeling/Selena Piek bt Ishaan Bhatnagar/Tanisha Crasto 21-11, 21-12
Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand 22-20, 17-21, 21-18 bt Anne Tran/Margot Lambert