Ace Indian shuttlers Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa suffered a straight-game defeat against Japanese duo of Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi in their first round of the women's doubles event here at the Rio Olympics on Thursday.
Despite starting off on a bright note, the Indian duo wilted under the sustained pressure from the assertive rivals as they were outclassed 15-21, 10-21 by the top-ranked Japanese pair at Riocentro-Pavilion.
Gutta and Ponnappa will next play against Dutch duo of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek in the second round on Friday.
On the other hand, Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy will compete in the men's doubles event shortly.
In women's singles, Saina Nehwal, the bronze medallist at the 2012 London Olympics, and PV Sindhu will kick off their Rio Olympics campaign later in the day.
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