Siril Verma, Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand finish runners-up at Welsh International Badminton Championships

Women's doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela finished runners-up at the Victor Welsh International Badminton Championships. Siril Verma also lost in the men's singles finals at the same event in Cardiff, Wales on Saturday.

The four-day International Challenge tournament was organized by Badminton Scotland under the auspices of the Badminton World Federation.

While Siril Verma lost the men’s singles final, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand went down fighting in the women’s doubles summit clash.

In an exciting final, Siril Verma lost to Arnaud Merkle of France 14-21, 21-11, 15-21 in 58 minutes.

Unseeded Siril did his best to counter World No. 86 Merkle but the Indian youngster’s brave fight fell just short against the experienced Frenchman. Arnaud Merkle upset sixth seed Subhankar Dey 21-7, 21-9 in the quarters.

Siril Verma beats Kiran George in all-India men’s singles semifinal

Hyderabad-based Siril beat Kiran George in the all-India semifinal earlier in the day. Kerala youngster Kiran George ousted Czech Republic’s Jan Louda 21-18, 21-13 in the quarterfinals on Friday.

In one of the other quarterfinal encounters, Siril Verma stunned fifth seed Lee Dong Keun of Korea 21-18, 21-18 in 47 minutes on Friday. It was perhaps one of the most memorable victories for Siril as the Korean star is ranked 55 in the world.

Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand (L) lost to sixth seeds Margot Lambert and Anne Tran of France) 20-22, 21-17, 14-21 in the women's doubles final on Saturday

Treesa Jolly - Gayatri Gopichand goes down fighting in women’s doubles final

Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand put up a brilliant fight in the Welsh International Challenge tournament. The dream run of the unseeded Indian duo was stopped in the final.

In the women’s doubles final, Treesa and Gayatri lost to sixth seeds Margot Lambert and Anne Tran of France 20-22, 21-17, 14-21. The thrilling summit clash lasted 69 minutes.

World No. 141 Treesa and Gayatri fought hard and pushed their higher-ranked opponents to the hilt. World No. 97 Margot and Anne had defeated Treesa and Gayatri at the Polish International in September as well.

In the quarterfinals, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri edged past Germany’s Stine Kuspert and Emma Moszczynski 21-15, 13-21, 21-14. The closely-contested match lasted 56 minutes.

Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto lose in mixed doubles semis

Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto lost to fourth seeds Callum Hemming and Jessica Pugh of England 16-21, 19-21 in 44 minutes.

In the quarterfinals, Ishaan and Tanisha downed Malaysia’s Tan Kok Xian and Desiree, Hao Shan Siow 21-16, 21-14 in 29 minutes.

Two men’s doubles pairs reached the quarterfinals but failed to progress further.

Boon Xin Yuan and Wong Tien Ci of Malaysia edged out Ishaan Bhatnagar and K Sai Pratheek 21-17, 18-21, 21-13 in 44 minutes.

Similarly, seventh seeds Rory Easton and Zach Russ of England thumped India’s Vasantha Kumar HR and Ashith Surya 21-8, 21-9 in 24 minutes.

In the women’s singles, Samiya Imad Farooqui was the only Indian to reach the quarterfinal. Top seed Julie Dawall Jakobsen of Denmark defeated Samiya 21-12, 21-10 in 29 minutes.

Fifth seed Malvika Bansod was shocked in the pre-quarters by Wen Chi Hsu of Chinese Taipei. Malvika, who represented the Indian team in the Sudirman Cup and Uber Cup recently, lost 16-21, 12-21 in 32 minutes.

Teenager Varun Kapur did well to reach the pre-quarterfinals after making the main draw through the qualifying rounds. Fifth seed Lee Dong Keun of Korea defeated qualifier Varun Kapur 21-17, 10-21, 21-9 in an hour and 4 minutes.

Indian Results

(Semifinals)

Men’s singles

Siril Verma beat Kiran George 21-11, 21-17 (29 minutes)

Women’s doubles

Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand Pullela beat Anna Ching Yik Cheong-Teoh Mei Xing (Malaysia) 21-19, 21-19 (36 minutes)

Mixed doubles

Ishaan Bhatnagar-Tanisha Crasto lost to 4-Callum Hemming-Jessica Pugh (England) 16-21. 19-21 (44 minutes)

(Finals)

Men’s singles

Siril Verma lost to Arnaud Merkle (France) 14-21, 21-11, 15-21 (58 minutes)

Women’s doubles

Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand Pullela lost to 6-Margot Lambert-Anne Tran (France) 20-22, 21-17, 14-21 (69 minutes).