2015 Japan Open Superseries : Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponnappa eliminated in first round

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa lost in three games

India suffered a big blow at the 2015 Japan Open Superseries as the Women's doubles and World No.10 duo of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa were knocked out in the opening round by Number 8 seed Zhao Yunlei and Qianxin Zhong of China 22-20 18-21 21-13 on Wednesday.

The opening game proved to be an absolutely nail-biting contest with both pairs fighting toe-to-toe, but the moments that mattered like the lone game point opportunity which they received at 20 were clinched the Chinese pair wand they took the opening game lead of 20-22.

The second game saw the Chinese pair got off a to a good start, but the Indian pair came back into the contest at the 11-11 mark, first winning a few points at a stretch and came back to win 3 points of their own at the 18-18 mark(after losing three straight at the 18-15 mark) to take the second game 21-18.

In the decider, the Chinese pair absolutely came storming back into the contest, racing away to a 7-1 lead and putting serious pressure on the Indian pair. Zhao and Zhong continued to pile on the pressure on Gutta and Ponnappa, even as they tried their best to fight back. The grit displayed by the Indian pair through didn't prove to be enough in the end as they bowed out in the opening round of the competition.

There is now doubt that the 2011 World Championships bronze-winning pair ‘s chances of qualifying for next year’s 2016 Rio Olympics will take a further dent after this loss and they will be looking to put up better performances when they take to the court in the future tournaments.

Final Scoreline - Zhao Yunlei/Qianxin Zhong beat Jwala Gutta/AshwiniPonnappa 22-20 18-21 21-13

Just in: @Guttajwala /@P9Ashwini go down fighting in 1st round to 8th seeds Zhao Yunlei/China Zhong Qianxin 20-22, 21-18, 13-21 #JapanOpen

— India@Sports (@India_AllSports) September 9, 2015