The Australian Open Super 500, a prestigious event in the Badminton World Federation’s calendar, witnessed the end of the Indian challenge following the exit of HS Prannoy. The tournament, which saw spirited performances from the Indian shuttlers, concluded their journey at the quarterfinal stage.
HS Prannoy exits in quarters
HS Prannoy, India’s top-ranked singles player, was the last Indian to exit the tournament. He faced a challenging match against Japan’s Kodai Naraoka, ultimately losing 19-21, 13-21 in a contest that lasted just over an hour. Prannoy, ranked 10th in the world, struggled to find his rhythm against the second-seeded Japanese player.
Earlier in the day, Sameer Verma faced world No. 17 Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei and succumbed to a 12-21, 13-21 defeat in just 38 minutes. Verma, who had previously achieved an upset victory over Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the Round of 16, was unable to replicate his performance against his higher-ranked opponent, bowing out in straight games.
🏸😞 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮'𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻! Despite their efforts, HS Prannoy & Sameer Verma couldn't gain momentum in their respective games, leading to their losses in the quarters.
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The mixed doubles pair of Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy also faced a tough challenge in their quarter-final match. They went down 12-21, 14-21 to the world No. 5 duo of Jiang Zheng Bang and Wei Ya Xin from China. The match lasted just 31 minutes, as the Indian pair struggled to keep up with their formidable opponents.
In the women’s singles quarter-finals, Aakarshi Kashyap lost 17-21, 12-21 to Pai Yu Po. Kashyap fought hard but ultimately could not overcome her opponent, leading to her exit from the tournament.
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