Gayatri-Treesa exit in semis

The young Indian pair lost the All England women's doubles semis against Baek-Lee 10-21, 10-21

- Ashish Magotra

NEW DELHI: At their best, Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly are full of attacking verve and energy. They go hard at their opponents - Jolly attacking, Gayatri at the net, working in tandem. That is their Plan A.

But what do they do when this plan doesn't work? What is their Plan B? In the semi-final of the All England Open Badminton Championships on Saturday, against the Korean pairing of Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee, the young Indians found out that they are still lacking in that department as they lost 21-10, 21-10 in 46 minutes.

Baek-Lee won in Germany last week and they were obviously feeling confident, and it showed in their play. This is a solid combination that never seems to be in a rush - they are defensively solid and they know it. In their previous match, they had rallies extending to over 100 shots but they just kept at it. So, the Indians knew what was coming their way, but on evidence of what we saw, matching this level is something that will take a little more time.

Patience is such a virtue on slow courts and in such conditions, being good defensively is a must. Right from the start it was clear how the Koreans were going to approach the match. They were not doing much in the front, and there was very little net play, but their lifts were solid and they trusted their defence.