Female duo of Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa face early exit from Swiss Open
The Indian female duo Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponnappa had to bear an early exit from Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold as they failed to shine in their first round match on March 14, 2012.
India’s only hope in the Women’s doubles event was buried when the Japanese couple Shizuka Matsuo-Mami Naito thrashed Jwala-Ashwini with final figures of 16-21, 21-18 and 21-10.
It was certainly the battle of nerves as the match lasted for three sets and 68 minutes but the World Number six duo Shizuka Matsuo-Mami Naito emerged as winner with a decisive 2-1 match score.
The partnership of Jwala-Ashwini showed some spark in the beginning but the female doubles experts were pushed into dark in the later stages as their rivals stole the limelight.
The World Number 18 pair alarmed their female opponents by stepping forward with 1-0 lead on match score board. They showed a strong character while registering the final score of 21-16 in the first set of the match.
However, the celebration was really short lived as they frittered away their chances of straight-set win despite of reaching very close to conclude second set in their favour.
The female pair of Shizuka-Naito stood in their way and ended their progress by levelling the lead. They snatched the crucial match point with 21-18 score on the board.
The Indians were not quick in picking the bird like they did in first set and allowed their rivals to control the pace of rallies.
In the third and decisive set, the Japanese duo got a commanding position from the beginning and did not let their opponents to catch them on the score board.
They pushed their rivals in all areas of the court and sealed the 2-1 victory in tremendous fashion by scoring a notable margin of 21-10.
The duo of Jwala-Ashwini employed every skill to cop up the challenge but failed to continue their positive run and crashed out of the event.
India now will be looking towards female singles shuttler Saina Nehwal, the only survivor from the women’s squad, to fetch some good news from the Swiss Open.
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