Singapore, May 30: After both PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy were forced to bow out of the Singapore Open Super 750 Series badminton event, here on Thursday, there was some solace for India.
The Indian women's doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly advanced to the quarterfinals.
The Indian duo defeated the World No. 2 Korean pair of Baek Na Ha and Lee So Hee in an intense Round of 16 match 21-9, 14-21, 21-15 that lasted close to an hour.
They will face the World No.6 Korean pair of Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Earlier in the day, Sindhu faced a defeat against former Olympic medallist Carolina Marin 21-13, 11-21, 20-22 in the second round match.
In the men's singles match, Prannoy was outclassed by Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 21-13, 14-21, 21-15 in the hard-fought encounter. The 31-year-old came back strong in the second game after losing the first game. In the final game, Prannoy fell short against his opponent in one hour and 18-minute-long match.
Treesa and Gayatri are the only Indian players left in the BWF Super 750 Badminton tournament.
But the Treesa-Gayatri pair will have to face tough challenge in the quarterfinals to advance into the semis. But since they defeated the World No 2 pair of Baek Na Ha and Lee So Hee, so the young Indian pair do have a chance of challenging their Korean opponents in the quarterfinals. (With IANS support)
