Unlike last year when Indian shuttlers finished with two titles, Team India’s campaign came to a premature end this time with twin quarter-final losses in doubles at the $65,000 Yonex Canada Open in Calgary on Friday.
Second seeds Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy fought hard but were edged, 17-21, 22-20, 18-21 by the Korean combine of Kim Won Ho and Shin Seung Chan in the mixed doubles last-eight clash. The battle lasted 1 hour 2 minutes.
In the men’s doubles section, the defending champions Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy crashed out in the same round. The third seeds were sent packing 12-21, 15-21 by the Korean team of Kim Won Ho and Seung Jae Seo in just 29 minutes.
Attri and Reddy were looking to gain in confidence with every win. They had endured an eight-match losing streak before coming to this event. That barren run had sent them out of the top 40 and they even had to relinquish their India No. 1 position in men’s doubles to the teenaged pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.
Singles shuttlers had exited in pre-quarters
Earlier, all Indian singles shuttlers exited the tournament in the pre-quarter-finals. Last year, the title went to B Sai Praneeth but this year there was no such repeat.
HS Prannoy, seeded second, was the biggest hope especially after his giant-killing run at last month’s Indonesia Open.
He, however, failed to capitalise on his chances and squandered a game to slump to a 21-17, 14-21, 13-21 defeat to the ninth seed Jin Hyeok Jeon of Korea.
Karan Rajan Rajarajan and Abhishek Yelegar were two others who too made it to the third round of men’s singles only to be met with the same fate. Yelegar bowed out to the fifth seed Pablo Abian, 15-21, 23-21, 14-21 while Guatemala Futures champion Rajarajan’s winning streak ended with an 18-21, 14-21loss to Japanese teenager Koki Watanabe.
Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap had to bite the dust in the second round.
In women’s singles, South Asian Games gold medallist Ruthvika Shivani Gadde was the best performer and narrowly lost to the second seed and the World No. 18 Aya Ohori of Japan.
