Kumamoto, November 12 (H.S.): India's campaign at the Japan Masters 2026 badminton tournament suffered a setback on Thursday, with both women's doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand and men's doubles combination Hariharan Amsakarunan and M.R. Arjun bowing out in the pre-quarterfinals after straight-game defeats.

World Championships bronze medallists Treesa and Gayatri were beaten 21-14, 21-14 by Japan's Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi. The Indian duo had secured their place in the Round of 16 with a convincing 21-17, 21-14 victory over Japan's Hinata Suzuki and Nao Yamakita in their opening match, which lasted 42 minutes.

The Japanese pair dictated the pace from the outset in the pre-quarterfinal clash, stringing together six consecutive points to take the opening game. Treesa and Gayatri mounted a spirited response in the second game, collecting four successive points to establish an early 5-1 lead. The contest remained closely fought until the score reached 14-14, but Iwanaga and Nakanishi then took control, winning seven consecutive points to seal the match in around 40 minutes.

India's men's doubles challenge also ended as Hariharan Amsakarunan and M.R. Arjun went down 21-14, 21-14 to Japan's Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, the 2021 world champions. The encounter lasted just over 35 minutes.

Hariharan and Arjun had advanced to the Round of 16 after their previous-round opponents, former world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia, retired from the match. However, the Indian pair could not maintain their campaign against the Japanese combination and exited the tournament.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar