New Delhi [India], August 20 (ANI): India's Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand stormed into the women's doubles quarterfinals of the BWF World Championships with a straight-game win over seventh seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi of Japan, while Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also advanced to the last eight after a thrilling victory here on Thursday.
World No. 39 Treesa and Gayatri produced a dominant 21-16, 21-12 win over the Japanese pair to become the first Indian women's doubles combination in 11 years to reach the quarterfinals of the World Championships, according to the Badminton Association of India (BAI).
The Indian duo will face fourth seeds Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shi Xian of China in the last eight.
Treesa and Gayatri started strongly and opened up a 13-9 lead in the first game. The Japanese pair responded by winning seven straight points, but the Indians regained their composure and claimed the next eight points to take the game.
The second game was more one-sided, with the Indian pair using quick drops and cross-court smashes to keep their opponents under pressure and seal the match in 44 minutes.
The result ended an 11-year wait for an Indian women's doubles pair to reach the World Championships quarterfinals. The last Indian combination to achieve the feat was Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa in 2015.
Later, two-time World Championships bronze medallists Satwik and Chirag overcame Malaysia's Junaidi Arif and Yap Roy King 21-23, 21-19, 21-17.
The Indian pair saved two game points in the opening game but eventually conceded it. They fought back in the second game after trailing 16-18 and forced a decider.
Satwik and Chirag again found themselves 12-15 down in the third game but levelled the score at 17-17 before winning the next four points to seal the match.
They will take on Chinese third seeds Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in the quarterfinals.
However, it was a disappointing day in singles for India as PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty were knocked out.
Two-time world champion Sindhu's hopes of winning a sixth World Championships medal ended with a 21-11, 15-21, 21-17 loss to third seed Wang Zhi Yi of China in an 88-minute battle.
Sindhu struggled in the opening game but bounced back strongly in the second, winning six consecutive points from 15-15 to force a decider.
She took an early 8-4 lead in the deciding game and later led 13-10, but Wang fought back by winning five successive points. The match featured several gruelling rallies, including one that lasted 54 shots, before Wang closed out the contest with a cross-court smash.
Meanwhile, Ayush Shetty's impressive campaign came to an end after the Indian lost 21-19, 21-11 to Indonesia's Alwi Farhan.
The contrasting results kept India's hopes of extending its medal streak at the World Championships, which began in 2011, alive through the two men's and women's doubles pairs.
Important results as per BAI:
Men's Singles: 7-Victor Lai (CAN) bt 13-Loh Kean Yew (SGP) 22-20, 21-18; Rasmus Gemke (DEN) bt 3-Jonatan Christie (INA) 11-21, 21-13, 21-18; 11-Alwi Farhan (INA) bt Ayush Shetty (IND) 21-19, 21-11; 10-Kodai Naraoka (JPN) bt 8-Li Shi Feng (CHN) 13-21, 23-21, 21-11
Women's Singles: 1-An Se Young (KOR) bt 16-Mia Blichfeldt (DEN) 21-16, 21-10; 10-Pornpawee Chochuwong (THA) bt 4-Chen Yufei (CHN) 15-21, 25-23, 21-17; 13-Michelle Li (CAN) bt 8-Tomoka Miyazaki (JPN) 17-21, 21-16, 21-18; 2-Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) bt 14-Sim You Jin (KOR) 21-17, 21-10; 15-Line Chirstophersen (DEN) bt 6-Putri Wardani (INA) 21-18, 21-17; 3-Wang Zhi Yi (CHN) bt 9-PV Sindhu (IND) 21-11, 15-21, 21-17
Men's Doubles: 5-Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND) bt Junaidi Arif/Yap Roy King (MAS) 21-23, 21-19, 21-17; 3-Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (CHN) bt Kim Astrup/Anders Rasmussen (DEN) 22-20, 8-21, 21-19
Women's doubles: Gayatri Gopichand/Treesa Jolly (IND) bt 7-Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanishi (JPN) 21-16, 21-12; 4-Jia Yi Fan/Zhang Shu Xian bt Hsieh Pei Shan/Hung En-Tzu (TPE) 21-11, 21-18; 13-Febriana Kusuma/Meilysa Puspitasari (INA) bt 5-Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan (MAS) 20-22, 21-18, 21-12;
Mixed Doubles: 6-Guo Xin Wa/Chen Fang Hui (CHN) bt 15-Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto (IND) 21-16, 21-5; 11-Yang Po-Husan/Hu Ling Fang (TPE) bt 3-Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Boje (DEN) 21-13, 9-21, 21-14. (ANI)
BWF World Championships: India's singles campaign ends, doubles pairs keep medal hopes alive
