Treesa, Gayatri fall short in Macau Open semifinals

Indian pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand's women's doubles campaign at the Macau Open Super 300 badminton tournament came to an end as they lost to Chinese Taipei's Hsieh Pei Shan and Hung En-Tzu in the semifinals in Macau on Saturday.

The third-seeded Indian duo fought hard but lost 17-21, 21-16, 10-21 to the world No. 54 Chinese Taipei pair, bringing India's journey at the tournament to a close.

Ranked 23rd in the world, Treesa and Gayatri had already faced defeat against Hsieh and Hung twice this year, but they looked determined to turn the tables this time.

Hsieh and Hung opened strong, leading 8-5, and despite the Indians levelling at 8-8, the Chinese Taipei pair won five consecutive points to secure a 13-8 lead.

Treesa and Gayatri fought back to 15-15, but Hsieh and Hung regained control to take the first game.

In the second game, both pairs went toe-to-toe, with the Indians holding a narrow 11-10 lead at the interval. Treesa and Gayatri then raised their intensity to stretch their lead to 17-12 before clinching the second game and forcing a decider.

However, Hsieh and Hung came out firing in the final game, racing to a 14-2 lead. The Indians tried to mount a comeback, reducing the deficit to 10-18. But the early gap proved too large and the Chinese Taipei pair sealed their third victory over the Indian duo this year.