Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand provided India’s only victory as host Japan secured a 3-1 win in the badminton team quarterfinals at the ongoing Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.

India faced a difficult challenge against the home side, with double Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu opening the contest against Akane Yamaguchi.

Sindhu made a strong start to India’s campaign despite dropping a closely fought opening game. The former World No. 1 recovered to take the second game before dominating the decider, completing a 21-23, 21-18, 21-11 victory.

Japan responded through 2022 junior world champion Tomoka Miyazaki, who faced Unnati Hooda in the next singles contest. Miyazaki needed 48 minutes to register a straight-games victory, winning 21-16, 21-18.

Unnati had an opportunity to force the match into a deciding game after establishing an 11-4 advantage in the second. However, she was unable to hold on to the lead as Miyazaki fought back to complete the win.

India then found renewed hope through the women’s doubles combination of Treesa and Gayatri. The Indian pair delivered an impressive performance against Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto, winning in straight games.

Treesa-Gayatri claimed the contest 21-17, 21-16 to keep India’s chances alive in the quarterfinal tie.

The momentum, however, did not last long as Japan took control again in the following singles match.

Tanvi Sharma faced Nozomi Okuhara with India needing another victory to stay in the contest. Okuhara proved too strong on the day and produced a commanding performance to win in straight games.

Tanvi went down 12-21, 10-21, with the result handing Japan the quarterfinal fixture.

The 3-1 scoreline brought India’s run in the women’s team competition to an end, while host Japan moved ahead after overcoming the Indian challenge.

Treesa and Gayatri’s straight-games victory was the highlight for the Indian camp, while Sindhu also produced a three-game win in the opening contest against Yamaguchi.