Malayali badminton star Treesa Jolly and her doubles partner Gayatri Gopichand retained their title at the Syed Modi International Super 300 event in Lucknow on Sunday.

Treesa and Gayatri defeated Japan's Kaho Osawa and Mai Tanabe, 17-21, 21-13, 21-15, in a thrilling match that lasted an hour and 16 minutes.

"This gold is for my partner, Gaya. After everything she's pushed through these past few months, coming back from injury and stepping right back into our rhythm, her strength says it all," posted Treesa after the triumph. Gayatri had been sidelined for five months with a shoulder injury.

The final match began with a 49-shot rally and saw the Japanese pair take a 6-3 lead. Though the Indian pair equalised, Osawa and Tanabe took the lead at regular intervals and stretched it to 18-15 before winning the opening game.

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Treesa and Gayatri bounced back instantly and stormed to a 9-2 lead, which they improved to 11-5 and 17-9. Treesa's sharp movement helped the holders make it 20-11 before levelling the match.

The favourites again dominated, with a 7-4 lead, but surrendered a few points. The Indians maintained a narrow lead, at 14-12 and 15-13 and did not let it slip. Treesa brought match point with a delicate drop before securing the title.

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Meanwhile, Kidambi Srikanth lost the men's singles final, 16-21 21-8 20-22, to World No 59 Jason Gunawan of Hong Kong.

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