Singapore [Singapore], July 15 (ANI): Indian shuttlers Arjun MR and Dhruv Kapila lost to Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in the Singapore Open.
In a game that went on for 49 minutes, Arjun and Dhruv lost 21-10, 18-21, 17-21 against Ahsan and Setiawan.
Playing on Court 2, the Indian shuttlers put on a dominating performance in the first game that ended with a score of 21-10.
Ahsan and Setiawan came back to life in the second game that was well fought. The Indian duo lost that game with the score of 18-21 which forced the decider.
Dhruv and Arjun had led in the start of the game but their Indonesian counterparts fought hard. The game was neck-to-neck with a score of 10-10. However, the Indian shuttlers lost their rhythm and the game ended with the score of 17-21 resulting in disheartening end of their journey in the Singapore Open.
Earlier in the day, PV Sindhu overcame a strong challenge from her Chinese rival Han Yue 17-21 21-11 21-19 in a contest lasting 62 minutes to book her semifinal berth.
The double Olympic medalist will next face Saena Kawakami, the Japanese world No. 38 who forced an upset by stopping Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand 21-17 21-19.
Meanwhile, star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy crashed out of the Singapore Open after suffering a defeat against Kodai Naraoka of Japan 21-12, 14-21, 18-21.
Playing on Court 3, Prannoy dominated Naraoka in the first game by 21-12 with his swift and aggressive move.
Naraoka made a stunning comeback against the Indian to take the second game and forced a decider. In the decider both the players played their aggressive game to clinch the match but Naraoka prevailed against Prannoy to advance to the next round with a thrilling 21-18 win.
Playing on Court 1, it was heartbreak for Saina Nehwal as she suffered a defeat against Ohori. Saina went down 13-21, 21-15, 20-22 after a hard-fought encounter which lasted 1 hour and 3 minutes. (ANI)
