Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Shine at Kumamoto Masters, Advance to Pre-Quarterfinals

Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have made a strong impression at the Kumamoto Masters 2026, advancing to the pre-quarterfinals after a decisive victory over a higher-ranked Japanese team. The Indian duo showcased their skills and determination, turning the match around after an early setback. They will next face another formidable Japanese pair in the round of 16. Meanwhile, other Indian players also had mixed results in the tournament. Read on to find out more about their performances and upcoming matches.

By Narendra Chaudhary Nov 10, 2026, 23:38 IST

Indian Duo Triumphs in Women's Doubles

New Delhi [India], November 10: Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have successfully moved on to the pre-quarterfinals of the Kumamoto Masters in Japan 2026. They achieved this by defeating the higher-ranked Japanese duo of Hinata Suzuki and Nao Yamakita in straight sets on Tuesday, as reported by a sports news outlet.

The Indian pair, currently ranked 20th in the world, secured a convincing 21-17, 21-14 victory over their 13th-ranked opponents in just 42 minutes during the opening round of the BWF Super 500 tournament held at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.

This match marked the first encounter between the two teams. Suzuki and Yamakita, who had previously won the Canada Open this year, were runners-up at the Denmark Open Super 750 last month.

After an early exit at the French Open last month, Treesa and Gayatri were eager to make a comeback.

Initially trailing 4-8 in the first game, the Indian duo rallied back, winning seven consecutive points to take an 11-8 lead at the interval. Despite a brief comeback from the Japanese pair, who narrowed the gap to 13-12, the Indians regained their composure and clinched the first game 21-17.

The second game saw Treesa and Gayatri dominate, finishing with a 21-14 score to secure their advancement to the next round. They are set to face the third-seeded Japanese pair of Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi, who are ranked fifth in the world, in the round of 16.

In their previous two encounters, both pairs have won one match each, with Treesa and Gayatri winning their latest meeting 21-16, 21-12 during the round of 16 at the BWF World Championships in New Delhi earlier this year.

In men's doubles, India's Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun also progressed to the pre-quarterfinals after their third-seeded opponents, Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, retired due to injury during their match. The Indian pair was leading 11-6 when the match concluded prematurely.

Hariharan and Arjun will face the winners of the first-round match between Japan's Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi and Hong Kong's qualifiers Hung Kuei Chun-Lui Chun Wai in the pre-quarterfinals.

Earlier, Dhruv Kapila and Radhika Sharma were eliminated from the mixed doubles qualifiers after losing 21-16, 21-15 to the American duo of Chen Zhi Yi and Francesca Corbett.

India's Lakshya Sen is set to begin his campaign on Wednesday. Additionally, men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, along with women's singles player Malvika Bansod, have withdrawn from the tournament despite being initially listed to compete.