The reactions of the Chinese after merely crossing a Round 2 hurdle at the Malaysian Open Super 1000, a lung opener at best, were telling, after the two respective wins. The women’s doubles pair Jia Yi Fan (one half of Paris Olympic champion), paired alongside Zhang Shu Xian, a Chinese who’s won everything possible in juniors, and is set to unleash chaos with her hitting speed in seriors, roared in relief, after Treesa-Gayatri combatively went from 16-20 to 19-20 in the decider, before missing last two points. Gayatri was on her knees grimacing as her return dropped wide, but Zhang and Jia and their coaches were celebrating like it was some final. Treesa had been sublime, and made them see a ghost through the 21-15, 18-21, 19-21 loss.

If Jia-Zhang roared, the big Chinese hope Li Shifeng was so relieved to get over the line against Prannoy, he needed an emotional lie-back on the court and animated celebrations with the coach, wholly unproportional to a prequarterfinal. There was some history, Prannoy had beaten Shifeng at Malaysia Masters during his title run and led 3-2 in H2H, but that was two years ago.

In his Thursday match against Shifeng, who couldn’t stop punching the air post his win, the Indian who’s lost 6 months to recovering fully from chikangunya and dropped to World No 26, gave the Chinese superstar-in-waiting and the Asiad champ, ranked No 7, an absolute fright before losing 8-21, 21-15, 21-23.

Prannoy was 6-13 down in the decider, his face inscrutable as ever, before he changed gears imperceptibly and made Shifeng harry around the court with precise shot selection. He levelled at 15-all with a soundless saunter – using the two pillars of his game, the flatter, pace-varied net exchanges. And his ability to smash straight and well within tramlines, denying even the tall Chinese any advantages of reach, by simply keeping him engaged on the opposite flank. It kept him in the hunt at 19-19, and Shifeng had his jaw still dropping at how the match had gone from him winning the opener 21-8, before Prannoy took the second with a late set surge.

It was typical of Prannoy who rivals irresistibly mistake for a pushover. He does that thing – appear utterly off colour in the first set, before he wakes up at the 11-point mark in the second. Shifeng was 9-5 up, looking to race to a steaight-sets, before Prannoy went teasing his leftie forehand wingspan, landing deep smashes that eluded the stretching Chinese who found himself10-12 down suddenly.

From 17-15, he began stewing Shifeng’s frustration with four straight points to push a decider. Still, the Chinese was lulled into believing, tricked a second time, that Prannoy was fading off at 6-13 down. ‘Not so fast’ as they say. Prannoy was all over Shifeng’s net game, completely befuddled the power-hitter with levers of stop-start-spin-snap at the front court. Shifeng was bewildered when it got to 19-19.

However, the Indian would see his luck at the net run out with an error at 19-20. But Prannoy’s defence forced an impetuous blood-rush cross sail wide from Shifeng to make it 20-20. Two more match points were squandered, before Shifeng could finally trap the win – Prannoy missing the line by a fair margin after the bet botch, his best game features deserting him at crunch.

The Chinese has a 86 percent winning record in matches that go to deciders. He kept the record intact, but was made to sweat mightily by the Indian.

Treesa-Gayatri narrowly miss

The impact of Malaysian coach Tan Kim Her seemed to be immediate as Treesa-Gayatri on the verge of World Top 10, came agonisingly close to upsetting Jia-Zhang, the newly formed pair with great individual pedigree.

The sheer variety in Treesa Jolly’s game looks like it will be unlocked by Coach Tan, and it hardly had anything to do with her power smashes. It was a rich blend of expansive, cross smashes that literally split the Chinese, sending them wide to the flanks, before Treesa would go for the rally-kill with a straight one down the centre. The 21-year-old also has a stop-drop, a looping arced short swirl that falls at the forecourt and leaves opponents stunned at the back. What she got spot-on against the Chinese was in choosing her precise moment to kill.

Zhang, the highly rated junior, was nervous in the company of her Olympic champ parter. But more than that she was absolutely confused by the Indians playing long rallies with a trick-a-minute response in strokes. While she struggled to find her rhythm, Jia held fort, but they were a set down soon enough.

However, Zhang who has remarkable whippy-speed, came good right when needed. There had been a near 100 shot rally at 15-10 in opener when Treesa bossed the opponents, and the Indians were 17-14 up, but there’s a reason why Chinese lord over women’s doubles. Zhang started hammering with accuracy to take 6 straight points at that stage, and pushed a decider.

It was a nightmare start of third for Indians, at 0-7 down. But first Treesa, later Gayatri started chipping away with their usual busy tinkering work, to come to within 9-10 in the third. Though the Indians stayed within striking distance, they never could overhaul the Chinese, though this might be the most assured they played against a highest quality team.

The Indians have fortified their defense and kept things creative, but ultimately Jia was too experienced and Zhang too quick to allow them a toehold. Gayatri who played two shots too many on the day and delayed a kill, got her high lift-drop-cross smash going to come to within 19-20, but she was also left burying her face in her hands when she sent one reflex way wide.

Chinese roared in relief after 82 minutes. But as takeaways go, it won’t count for much after the inevitable loss. A typical 19-21 heart-wringer.