Badminton Asia Championships: Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa eliminated in the first round

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa suffered an early exit at the Badminton Asia Championships

The Indian women’s doubles badminton hopes came to crushing end on Day one of the Badminton Asian Championships in Wuhan, China as the pairing of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa were knocked out in the first round.

The Indian pair lost to the Chinese Taipei duo of Ya Ching Tsu and Yu Po Pai 21-17 15-21 21-15 in the opening round in a match that lasted for 45 minutes, thereby adding a slightly sour taste to a good start for India at the competition, with Parupalli Kashyap winning his first match against Zi Liang Derek Wong of Singapore 21-17 21-13.

The Chinese Pair had the upper hand for most part of the 1st Game but Jwala and Ashwini came roaring back in the next game, winning 6 consecutive points as compared to their opponents’s 3. But the deciding game saw Tsu and Pai stage a comeback and they eventually sealad the game and the match in their favour.

Jwala and Ashwini haven’t had the greatest of times as a pairing recently. They suffered an early elimination from the All England Championships as well last month, where they lost to another Chinese pairing of Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei.