BIRMINGHAM: Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand’s sensational run came to an end as the Indian pair signed off with a second successive semifinal finish at the All England Championships here on Saturday.
The two young shuttlers found the going tough against Korean world number 20 duo of Baek Na Ha and Lee So Hee, losing 10-21 10-21 in a 46-minute women’s doubles contest at the Utilita arena. “We learnt a lot from this match.
The difference was they didn’t leave a shuttle and we did panic a little bit,” Gayatri said after the match. Gayatri’s father Pullela Gopichand, the chief national coach, was the last Indian to win the All England crown, in 2001, the first being the legendary Prakash Padukone in 1980.
Gayatri, 20, and Treesa, 19, had a big opportunity to reach the finals but it ended in anti-climax as they played into the hands of the Koreans. “I was nervous. There was pressure,” said Gayatri.
The world number 17 pair was pitted against Baek and Lee, the latter being an experienced player with two world championships medals with former partner Shin Seung-chan. In fact, Lee and Shin had faced defeat against the Indian pair in the last edition but the fresh combination of Lee and Baek have been relentless this week with wins over second and eighth seeds, and looked in supreme touch as they came up with a tactical masterclass.
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