Gayatri-Jolly enter second round of Syed Modi Int’l

Lucknow: India’s women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand progressed to the second round of the USD 240,000 Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament here on Tuesday.

The defending champions overcame Malaysia’s Cheng Su Hui and Tan Zhing Yi 19-21, 22-20, 21-9 in a hard-fought opener.

It was a promising outing for the Indian duo, especially with Gayatri returning to competitive action last week at Australian Open after a five-month layoff due to a shoulder injury.

Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra also entered the second round, defeating compatriots Peeva Evangelin and Samriddhi Singh 21-8, 21-11 in a one-sided contest.

In men’s doubles, fifth seeds Hariharan Amsakarunan and M.R. Arjun -- winners at the Al Ain Masters Super 100, Turkiye International Challenge and Telangana Challenge -- posted a 21-11, 21-13 victory over Ayush Makhija and Sujey Tamboli to advance to the second round. Second seeds Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K. also moved ahead comfortably, beating Swarnaraj Bora and Nibir

Ranjan 21-8, 21-17.