The Indian women’s doubles pairing of Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee exited the competition in the round of 16 of the China Smash 2024 on Wednesday.
They conceded a four-game (11-3, 7-11, 5-11, 5-11) match against the top-seeded Chinese Taipei pairing of Cheng I-Ching and Li Yu-Jhun in the pre-quarterfinals.
Indian pair started the match on an aggressive note and clinched the first game with a domination (11-3) but the second game was much closer and it was a one point game after 15 points.
But then, the Chinese Taipei pair won three points on the trot to clinch the game and send the match back on level terms.
The world number three Chinese Taipei pair showed their class in the third and fourth games and didn’t give any free points to the Indians, forcing them to make silly errors.
This plan eventually worked as the world no.16 pairing of Sutirtha and Ayhika couldn’t find a way to close the deficit and conceded the match in a four-game encounter.
Earlier, India’s no.1 men’s doubles pairing of Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah reached to their maiden quarterfinal appearance at the Grand Smash event with a 3-1 win over the Chilian pair in the round of 16.
They are the only Indian representative left in the competition for India and will face the fourth-seeded Chinese pair of Liang Jingkun and Wang Chuqin tomorrow.