Swiss Open 2024: Srikanth enters the semifinals, Treesa-Gayatri bow out
The Swiss Open 2024 continued to witness some intense matches on day four of the competition. The Super 300 tournament unfolding in Basel, Switzerland, saw only Kidambi Srikanth from the Indian contingent progress to the semifinals.
India’s other remaining shuttlers in the quarterfinals, Priyanshu Rajawat, Kiran George, and the pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, went down in their respective matches to end their campaigns. A few of India’s leading shuttlers also crashed out in the pre-quarterfinals on March 21.
A closer look at the results of the Indian shuttlers at the Swiss Open 2024:
The day commenced with India’s women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand taking on Australia's Angela Yu and Setyana Mapasa. The Indian shuttlers, currently ranked 26th in the world rankings, were looking to gain some important points to help improve their position and secure their place in the Paris Olympics.
Despite their best efforts, the eight-seeded Indian duo couldn't find a way past their Yu and Mapasa. After conceding a lead in both sets, the pair could never recover and eventually succumbed to a defeat with a scoreline of 14-21, 15-21.
It was not all bad news for the Indian camp, as ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth delivered a commanding performance in the men's singles category. The former World No. 1 had struggled to make it past the second round in his last twelve tournaments but the Swiss Open 2024 saw a change in the Indian shuttler’s fortunes.
Continuing his brilliant run, Srikanth dominated from the beginning and beat Chia Hao Lee from Chinese Taipei by a scoreline of 21-10, 21-14 to enter the semifinals of the tournament. He will now face Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-Yi.
Apart from Kidambi Srikanth, India’s other men’s singles shuttlers in the last eight encountered tough challenges from their opponents and ended their campaigns at the Swiss Open 2024.
Kiran George took on Denmark's Rasmus Gemke. After narrowly taking the first set 23-21, George couldn't maintain his momentum, eventually losing the next two games. He went down 23-21, 17-21, 15-21 in a closely-contested match lasting an hour and fourteen minutes.
Priyanshu Rajawat too went down fighting against World No. 15 from Chinese Taipei, Chou Tien Chen while Rajawat lost to Chen with a scoreline of 15-21, 19-21.
Swiss Open 2024: Results at the end of day four (Indians only)
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand (India) lost to Angela Yu and Setyana Mapasa (Australia) 14-21, 15-21
Kidambi Srikanth (India) beat Chia Hao Lee (Chinese Taipei) 21-10, 21-14
Kiran George (India) lost to Rasmus Gemke (Denmark) 23-21, 17-21, 15-21
Priyanshu Rajawat (India) lost to Chou Tien Chen (Chinese Taipei) 15-21, 19-21