BWF Japan Masters 2024 Day 1 Results: Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand knocked out in opening round
India's campaign at the Japan Masters has gotten off to a weak start. In action on Tuesday, November 12, was the doubles duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who were knocked out in their opening round by lower-ranked opponents.
Jolly and Gopichand came into this tournament on the back of an early exit at the Denmark Open, and fans were eager to see the two get back to winning ways. Their round-of-32 match in Kumamoto saw them face the duo of Hsu Yin-Hui and Lin Jhih Yun, with the World No. 20 Indians heading into the match as the favorites.
Prior to this battle at the Japan Masters, Jolly and Gopichand had faced their Taiwanese opponents twice, and had emerged victorious on both occasions. Today's match got off to a scintillating start, with the two pairs going toe-to-toe for the first few points.
However, Yin-Hui and Jhih Yun quickly pulled ahead right before the mid-game interval, eventually winning 21-16. The second game was the same story. While Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand looked in fighting form early, they quickly lost that momentum, succumbing 16-21, 16-21 to the World No. 29 pair.
Japan Masters 2024: PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen to take to court on Wednesday
While India's campaign at the Japan Masters has gotten off to a slow start, all hope is not lost for fans just yet. Wednesday’s schedule at Kumamoto will see singles stars PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen in action for their respective first-round matches.
Sindhu will be taking on Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan early in the day on court one. The two have previously played each other 19 times, with the Indian having won 18 of those clashes, including their most recent one.
On the other hand, Lakshya Sen will battle Malaysia’s Leong Jun Hao. Sen leads the head-to-head record between the two players 3-1. He hasn't lost to the Malaysian since they both played each other on the BWF junior circuit.
While Sindhu will look at this match as an opportunity to build on the rhythm she found at the Denmark Open last month, Sen will hope to redeem himself from his first-round exit from Copenhagen.