India Open: Ashwini-Tanisha bow out after loss to Thai duo in first round

New Delhi, Jan 17 (IANS) Indian women's doubles pair of Ashwini Ponappa and Tanisha Crasto faced an early exit from the India Open, a BWF Super 750 badminton tournament. The duo succumbed to a 5-21, 21-18, 11-21 defeat against the Thai pair of Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai, here at KD Jadhav Indoor Hall on Wednesday.

The world no. 20 Indian pair failed to secure a great start, and their Thai counterparts asserted complete dominance since the beginning, swiftly establishing a commanding 8-0 lead.

Although Ashwini-Tanisha managed to secure a few points in between, it proved insufficient for the Indians, as the Thai duo sustained their dominance and convincingly secured the opening game with a score of 21-5.

Following the change of sides, the Indian duo staged a comeback, as both the teams engaged in a tight contest with scores reeling 7-all. The momentum of the game continued to oscillate before Ashwini-Tanisha seized a slender 11-9 lead, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats at the mid-game break.

Maintaining a steadfast grip on the momentum in a closely contested game, the Indians clinched the second game 21-18, forcing a match into a decider.

"We were a lot more alert in the second game and a lot more ready going towards shuttles and I think Tanisha got quite a few shots at the net where she intercepted really well which helped a lot and I mean unfortunately in the third game we gave the lead again and we gave them quite a big lead so it was pretty hard to keep chasing them but the second game we should have done what we did in the second game," Ponappa said after the match.

The third game began similar to that of the first game, with the Indian pair trailing at 8-16. Unfortunately, they were unable to reverse the tide, ultimately conceding the game 11-21, allowing the Thai duo to secure the victory.

"Today was one of those days where both of us were ending up going for the same shot. I mean that happens at times and it's important to like overcome that but today was one of those days where we went for quite a few shots together," she added.

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