Fifth-seeded Srikanth went down fighting to unseeded Jason Gunawan of Hong Kong China 16-21, 21-8, 20-22, but Treesa and Gayatri came from behind to brush aside the Japanese pair of Kaho Osawa and Mai Tanabe 17-21, 21-13, 21-15 in a marathon final, which lasted for over one hour.

Defending champions Treesa and Gayatri even after levelling the score at eight in the first game, went down fighting. But after the change of ends, the two were altogether different, unleashing a series of powerful smashes to keep the Japanese pair on their toes.

In decider too, the two continued to dominate and took 11-5 lead at the change ends. Though Japanese shuttlers tried their best to reduce the margin with fine drops and returns, making the score to 9-13, the Indian pair didn’t bother much and raced to the finish line.

“Before the final, we discussed our game plan as we knew that it wasn’t going to be easy. In the first game, there were long rallies and we tried to take control but we couldn’t,” said Treesa after the match.

“But we changed our strategy in the second game. There was no pressure of being the defending champions, but we knew it well that the match was not going to be finished in an hour against the Japanese,” she said, adding, “In fact, our combination worked well both in the second and third games.”

Gayatri, who played a crucial role in the third game with perfect deception and flicks on the net, said that it was a well-planned strategy of the two to keep attacking the backhand of their rivals. “It’s a natural process between the two of us. Our game plans have changed a lot now and we hope to continue this in future events also,” said Gayatri.

In the match against 21-year-old Gunawan, Malaysian Open’s runners-up this year Srikanth was outplayed in the first game as the drift kept haunting the former world No 1, who committed a series of unforced errors. But in the second game, Srikanth found his rhythm and won with ease after enjoying an 11-4 lead at the break.

Srikanth, who had won his last BWF title at the 2017 French Open, began the last game in style, taking 5-1 lead, but soon Gunawan narrowed the lead to 10-11 with a foray of smashes before locking the points at 14-14.

Things then began drifting towards Gunawan, who had won his maiden national title in Hong Kong in 2020, as he extended a two-point lead before Srikanth drew parity at 19 and then 20. In fact, an unforced error at 18-17 dashed Srikanth’s hopes as the shuttler was expecting his seventh BWF title of his career.

“My last two hits were out and it made all the difference. Moreover, Gunawan played really well,” said Srikanth after the match.

He, however, said that he hasn’t decided about his next plan as he will discuss it with his coaches. “Coming back to this stage after recovering from injury wasn’t easy and I am taking one step at a time. So far, I haven’t planned anything, and will discuss my roadmap with my coaches soon.”

Earlier, Japan’s Hina Akechi defeated Neslihan Arin of Turkey 21-16, 21-14 to win the women’s singles crown.