Singapore Open: Treesa-Gayatri upset Tokyo Olympic medalist in quarters

The young Indian women's doubles pairing of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand made a miraculous comeback to topple the Tokyo Olympic medalist, the Korean pairing of Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong in the quarterfinals on Friday.

They were India's lone representative at the Singapore Open quarterfinals as the top Indian shuttlers were already knocked out of the competition in the first three days.

The Indians held their nerve well at the high-intensity final game which goes beyond the deuce point but a final kill shot on the net from Gayatri turned the match in their favor.

This is the second consecutive victory against a top-10 pair for Treesa-Gayatri. They also got a big upset in the second round to knock out the world no.2 Korean pair on Thursday and now take that momentum to reach their first semifinals at a Super 750 tournament.

A Great Comeback

The match turned into a heated one when the Indian pair recovered a big lead of six points (12-18) in the second game to force a decider in the match.

The excellent attacking prowess of Treesa was equally matched by the clinical net play of Gayatri which turned the match into a fierce battle that lasted for a long 79 minutes.

In the final game, the Indians high on confidence, continued their aggressive play and maintained a constant lead of 2-3 points throughout the game but in the final moments the Koreans made a comeback and leveled the scores at 19-19.

But, Treesa-Gayatri hold on their composure and converted the match in their favor on the fourth match point (24-22), when Gayatri played an apologetic kill shot on the net.