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While all the other Indian shuttlers have departed early, former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Parupalli Kashyap has kept the Indian Tricolour flying high by reaching the semi-finals of the Korea Open 2019 in Incheon.
The 33-year-old was promoted into the main draw from qualifying at this Super 500 tournament and has been a revelation ever since. He began his challenge against qualifier Lu Chia Hung, whom he defeated 21-16, 21-16.
Kashyap and Malaysia's Daren Liew then crossed swords for a quarter-final berth in a battle of two former top-10 players after Liew had got the better of Lin Dan. In a fierce contest, even though the Indian did drop a game, he managed to regain his confidence and composure to complete a 21-17, 11-21, 21-12 win.
Former World No. 2 Jan O Jorgensen then awaited the World No. 30 in the last-eight stage but Kashyap came through that test with flying colours as well. He staved off stiff resistance from the Dane in the opener and then ran away with the second game to register a 24-22, 21-8 victory.
Up next for him is the World No. 1 Kento Momota in what would be Kashyap's toughest assignment of the week. The Indian has a 0-2 head-to-head record against the mighty Japanese and their last meeting came way back in 2015.
Kashyap hasn't met Momota since the latter returned from his suspension and took the badminton world by storm. The numero uno men's singles shuttler is currently on a 19-match winning streak, having tasted glory at the World Championships, the Japan Open and last week's China Open.
It goes without saying that Momota is in imperious form at the moment. That said, having come back from a series of injuries, a rejuvenated Kashyap has been performing very well on the court this year. He reached the final of the Super 100 Canada Open and even made it to the semi-finals of the Super 500 India Open earlier in the year.
There is a renewed hunger and motivation whenever Kashyap steps onto the court now. It might not be enough to halt the run of Momota but he can certainly make the Japanese work hard to earn the win.
Here is all you need to know about the Ḵorea Open:
Tournament: Korea Open 2019
Category: Super 500
Location: Incheon, Korea
Schedule: (1) Kento Momota vs Parupalli Kashyap at approx 2:40 pm IST on Saturday, September 28, 2019.
Where to watch the matches in India?
The Korea Open matches will be telecast live on Star Sports 3.
Live Stream Details and Info for the matches:
Live Stream will be available on hotstar.com.
