Indian pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto lost in a thrilling three-game women’s doubles final at the Syed Modi International super 300 badminton tournament in Lucknow on Sunday. They lost 14-21 21-17 15-21 against third seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi of Japan in a 77-minute clash.
The seventh seeded Indians made good starts but couldn’t sustain the pressure in the opening game. Ashwini, 36, and 20-year-old Tanisha, who started playing together only in January this year, roared back into the contest after winning the second game and fought back from 1-8 down in the decider to 13-15 before the World No. 15 Japanese marched ahead.
Tanisha dazzled in the frontcourt, producing some precise placements, as the Indian pair lead 7-4 in the opening game. The Japanese pair clawed back with three points before Ashwini came into the fore, sending down a couple of smash to lead 11-8 at the break. However, Rin and Kie managed to turn the tables with four straight points.
Things went downhill as the Indian pair fell into a pool of unforced errors as the Japanese led 18-12 and eventually won the match.
In the decider, Rin and Kie came out all cylinders blazing, winning the game with a score of 21-15.
The Indian pair once again made a good start to the second game, leading 6-3. The home shuttlers tried to target the body, and use flick serve but Tanisha often struggled to reach the shuttler on the sidelines and also committed a couple of service errors, allowing Rin and Kie make it 7-8. The Indians managed to eke out a 11-9 lead at the interval and clinched the game.
In the decider, Rin and Kie came out all cylinders blazing, zooming to 8-1. The Indians tried to extend the rallies, drawing out a series of errors from their opponents to manage to bring the lead down to 7-9. However, they couldn’t maintain the momentum and ultimately lost the match.
