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Day one of the BWF World Tour Finals brought a thrilling match for Indian badminton enthusiasts. Treesa Jolly and Gayathri Gopichand were in action in Hangzhou, and the duo lost their first match of the tournament after a grueling battle.
Despite a year filled with ups and downs, Jolly and Gopichand are the nation's only shuttlers to qualify for the World Tour Finals. After missing out on a berth at the Paris Olympics, the duo look eager to prove their mettle.
The BWF World Tour Finals features only eight players in each of the five categories, with the players being divided into groups of four for the initial round-robin matches. Jolly and Gopichand have been placed in the women's doubles Group A, which features first seed Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning, fourth seeds Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan, and fifth seeds Nami Matsuyama/Chihara Shidu.
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On Wednesday, December 11, the Indians took on China's Liu and Tan, with the match getting off to an electric start as the Indians claimed the first game 22-20. However, the home favorites were quick to fight back, forcing a decider with the same scoreline, before going on to win the final game 21-14. The match lasted nearly 90 minutes as Jolly and Gopichand put up a commendable fight.
BWF World Tour Finals: Treesa Jolly and Gayathri Gopichand to take on Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan next
After the challenging opening round match, Treesa Jolly and Gayathri Gopichand will battle Malaysia's Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan on Thursday, December 12, at the BWF World Tour Finals. The two pairs are scheduled to be the third ones in action on court two of the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium tomorrow, with the first match starting at 9:30 AM.
Before this, Jolly and Gopichand have fought Tan and Muralitharan seven times, with the latter having won six of these encounters, including their most recent match. The only time the Indians beat their Malaysian foes was at the 2023 Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship when they got the better of the World No. 6 in straight games.
