Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, March 20: P Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, the women’s doubles combination, were eliminated from the ongoing All England Open Championship after losing in the semi-final match on Saturday at Utilita Arena in Birmingham. In a match that lasted 51 minutes, the Indian duo were defeated by China’s Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Yu in straight sets 21-17, 21-16.
Gopichand and Jolly have been knocked out of the tournament, and the Chinese couple will face Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida of Japan in the finals.
Earlier, Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen advanced to the All England Open Championship men’s singles finals after defeating Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia 21-13 12-21 21-19 in a match that lasted for one hour and sixteen minutes.
Saina Nehwal was the last Indian to reach the All England final in 2015, when she finished second, while Pullela Gopichand was the last Indian to win the All England Badminton Championships in 2001.
Notably, before Prakash Padukone in 1980 and Pullela Gopichand in 2001, only two Indians have won this tournament, Prakash Padukone in 1980 and Pullela Gopichand in 2001. Lakshya Sen is only one win away from being the third Indian to win the tournament. Lakshya is the fifth Indian woman to reach the All England final.