India’s run in the Australian Open badminton tournament came to an end with the defeat of top-ranked singles player HS Prannoy.
Prannoy lost to Japan’s Kodai Naraoka with a score of 19-21, 13-21, marking the end of India’s challenge in this Super 500 event as no Indian player advanced beyond the quarter-finals.
Before World No. 10 Prannoy’s defeat, men’s singles player Sameer Verma, women’s singles player Akarshi Kashyap, and the mixed doubles pair of Sikki Reddy and B Sumeeth Reddy also exited in the last eight.
Despite trailing 10-16 in the first game, Prannoy made a strong comeback to level the score at 18-18 but failed to maintain the momentum. Naraoka dominated the second game after an early 5-5 tie, leaving Prannoy no opportunity to recover.
Sameer Verma, who had previously upset former world number one Loh Kin Yu, was outplayed by Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun Yi, losing 21-12, 21-13 in just 38 minutes.
In mixed doubles, the eighth-seeded husband-wife duo of Sumit and Sikki Reddy lost to the top-seeded pair of Jian Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin, who won comfortably with a score of 21-12, 21-14. Eighth seed Akarshi Kashyap was defeated by Chinese Taipei’s Yu Po Pai 21-17, 21-12 in a women’s singles match that lasted 42 minutes.
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