The Indian campaign at the 2024 French Open Super 750 got off to a good start in Paris as the doubles pair of Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, and men’s singles shuttler Lakshya Sen all got off to a winning start on Tuesday.

Up against fellow Indians Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto, Treesa-Gayatri had to work hard for their win. The world No 23 pair came from behind to register a 16-21, 21-19, 21-17 win to advance to the pre-quarterfinals.

Having pocketed the first game, Ponnappa-Crasto gave the opponents a run for their money but faltered and lost points at crucial junctures as they were forced into a decider.

Treesa-Gayatri dominated the deciding game right from the start and led 11-4 before the change of ends. Though Ponnappa-Crasto fought back well later, it was too late to trouble their opponents.

With the two pairs still locked in a nail-biting tussle for the 2024 Paris Olympics qualification, the victory over their counterparts could not have come at a better time for Treesa-Gayatri.

Earlier in the day, the world No 1 men’s doubles pair of Rankireddy and Shetty went past Malaysia’s Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi 21-13, 24-22 in straight games.

The Indians pocketed the first game without breaking a sweat and led 16-9 in the second game, before the Malaysians forced a fightback.

Rankireddy and Shetty had to play out of their skins, even saving a couple of game points to emerge out on top in a contest which lasted 47 minutes.

Lakshya wins, Priyanshu exits

Meanwhile in the men’s singles, Sen registered a 15-21, 21-15, 21-3 win over Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama in 63 minutes.

While Sen, ranked 19th in the world, struggled to get going in the opening game, he breezed past Tsuneyama in the second to force a decider.

The Japanese shuttler looked completely out of sorts in the decider as Sen bulldozed his way to win the third game within the blink of an eye.

Later in the day, world No 29 Priyanshu Rajawat went down 8-21, 15-21 to the top seed and world No 1 Viktor Axelsen in just 37 minutes to bow out of the competition.