Indian challenge ends in Hong Kong Open badminton

Kowloon (Hong Kong), Sep 14 (PTI) India’s challenge at the Hong Kong Open Super 500 tournament ended after two women’s doubles pairs lost in the pre-quarterfinals here on Thursday.

The first Indian combination to take the court was Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who were no match for seventh seeds Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ranadhanti of Indonesia, losing 8-21 14-21 in just 36 minutes.

Thereafter, all hopes were on Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa to come up with a spirited performance against top seeds Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahar of Japan and keep the country’s flag flying but the task was too tall.

The unseeded Indian pair lost 18-21 7-21 in just 38 minutes against Matsumoto and Nagahara to draw curtains on the country’s campaign here.