Lucknow | The Indian pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand retained the women's doubles crown but Kidambi Srikanth's hopes of snapping an eight-year title drought went up in smoke as he suffered a heartbreaking loss in the final of the Syed Modi International Super 300 here Sunday.
Former winner Srikanth, a 2021 world championships silver medallist, went down 16-21 21-8 20-22 to world No. 59 Jason Gunawan of Hong Kong in a 67-minute thriller.
The 32-year-old had last won a title in 2017 at the French Open and had come close earlier this year, finishing runner-up at the Malaysia Masters Super 500.
Defending champions Treesa and Gayatri, however, produced an attacking masterclass to rally from a game down and outwit the world No. 35 pair of Japan's Kaho Osawa and Mai Tanabe 17-21 21-13 21-15 in a pulsating one hour and 16-minute final. They were playing only their second event since Gayatri's return from a five-month shoulder injury layoff.
Srikanth vs Gunawan
Gunawan started strongly to go 4-1 ahead and went into the break with a three-point lead. Errors crept into the Indian's game soon after as his lifts floated long, helping Gunawan move to 14-10.
Srikanth answered with crisp smashes but Gunawan stayed sharp, surging to 17-11 with a straight down-the-line winner. Srikanth saved three of the seven game points before Gunawan sealed the opener with a powerful smash.
Switching sides brought a renewed Srikanth, who injected pace into his attack and unleashed razor-sharp smashes and brilliant retrieves to race to 6-1. A body smash from Gunawan broke his run, but Srikanth maintained pressure on the backhand side to lead 11-4, and eventually, grabbed 13 game points.
He converted on the second to roar back into the contest.
The decider saw Srikanth move to 5-1, but Gunawan clawed back with a jaw-dropping retrieval that left Srikanth on the floor, narrowing the gap to 4-5 and was soon leading 6-5.
However, Srikanth managed to edge ahead 11-10 at the interval with a winning dribble.
On resumption, Srikanth produced a deceptive net shot and targeted steep smashes to move ahead 14-11 as rallies tightened. Gunawan, however, reeled off three superb points — a fine drop and two attacking winners — to make it 14-14 and then led when Srikanth went wide.The duo moved from 17-17 to 19-19.
Srikanth missed the backline by a whisker to hand Gunawan a match point, but the Indian saved it with a deep push that the Hong Kong player failed to retrieve. At 20-20, Gunawan unleashed a jump smash and followed it up with an attacking return to earn another match point, converting it when Srikanth's forehand push sailed long.
Treesa-Gayatri show class
The women's doubles final began with a breathtaking 49-shot rally, setting the tone for a high-intensity contest as both pairs fought tooth and nail before Osawa and Tanabe edged ahead 6-3.
A couple of sharp smashes from Treesa pulled the Indians level, and an Osawa forehand error helped them move to 8-6.
The Japanese, however, regrouped to take a slender lead at the interval and maintained their hold to stretch it to 18-15. A backhand cross-court return from Tanabe caught Gayatri off guard, and another Indian error handed the Japanese five game points. Treesa and Gayatri saved two, but Tanabe closed out the opener with a smash.
Switching sides brought a momentum shift as the Indians found their rhythm and showed excellent anticipation to surge to 9-2. Though a few shots drifted into the net, they held an 11-5 advantage at the break, bolstered by another booming Treesa smash from the backcourt.
Treesa and Gayatri continued to dictate the rallies, marching to 17-9. Treesa's quick racquet speed and sharp movement allowed her to rain down attacking returns, taking the Indians to 20-11. They squandered two game points before a long lift from the Japanese forced the match into the decider.
In the third game, the Indians moved to 7-4 before miscommunication cost them a few points. But sharp net interceptions restored control, and a deceptive net shot from Treesa followed by another well-constructed point gave them a six-point cushion at the interval.
Osawa and Tanabe narrowed the deficit to 12-14, and later 13-15, but a fired up Treesa produced another disguised net shot, and Gayatri unleashed a sharp smash as the Indians closed in on the title.
A delicate drop from Treesa, and a wide shot from the Japanese handed India six match points, and they converted on the second to retain the crown.