Commonwealth Games gold-medal winning women’s doubles duo of Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal helped India get off to a great start at the WSF World International Doubles at Marrara, Darwin in Australia on Monday. The duo, who have been given top seeding, won both their group matches to register a flawless 2-0 score in Pool A.
The two Indian girls first beat the Malaysian No. 1 pair of Delia and Rachel Arnold, 11-7, 11-10 in just 20 minutes. They then followed it up with an 11-8, 11-8 win over the Australian No. 2 team of Sarah Cardwell and Christine Nunn.
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With two victories, the Indians now lead Pool A, which consists of a total of four teams.
Success in mixed doubles too
In mixed doubles too, India had great success on the first day of the championships. Second seeds and India No. 1 pair of Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal thrashed the Malaysian No. 1 team of Rachel Arnold and Mohammad Syafiq Kamal, 11-7, 11-4. Their second outing was slightly tougher but they still managed to register an 11-8, 5-11, 11-5 victory over the Wales No. 1 combine of Peter Creed and Tesni Evans.
The India No. 2 team too won their Group A opener. Chinappa and Harinderpal Sandhu, who are seeded fifth, rebounded after their second-game loss to record an 11-9, 10-11, 11-10 win over Malaysians Delia Arnold and Sanjay Singh Chal.
While the India No. 1 team is now in second place in Pool B, the India No. 2 team lies in third place in Pool A.
However, India did not enjoy the same fortune in men’s doubles. The ninth-seeded India No. 1 pair of Sandhu and Ramit Tandon lost both their matches. Against the Australians Ryan Cuskelly and Cameron Pilley, they went down 6-11, 6-11.
It wasn’t any better against the Colombian duo of Andres Herrera and Juan Camilo Vargas as the Indians succumbed to an 11-8, 7-11, 10-11 defeat.
