India's campaign came to a halt in the Hylo Open 2022, with Kidambi Srikanth and Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand crashing out in their semi-finals matches on Saturday at Saarbrucken, Germany.
Kidambi Srikanth, the 11th-ranked badminton player in the world and silver medalist in the world championships, was defeated 21-18, 21-15 by world No. 6 Anthony Ginting of Indonesia in the Saarlandhalle indoor arena.
At the first break, Kidambi Srikanth had a slim 11-9 lead over Anthony Ginting. The Indonesian, who had earlier this year defeated Srikanth in the prestigious All England Open pre-quarterfinals, continued to chip away at the lead, though, and managed to win by a narrow margin as per by Olympics website.
Kidambi Srikanth mixed drop shots with long ones to great effect, but Anthony Ginting controlled Srikanth with strong smashes in the second game to lead 11-6 at the half.
After the break, Kidambi Srikanth made an effort to rally, but Ginting maintained his lead with excellent attacking abilities and speed to ultimately progress to Sunday's men's singles final.
Earlier, Thailand's Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard defeated Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand in the women's doubles semifinals 21-17, 14-21, 21-18 in 33 minutes.
The 28th-ranked badminton team, Jolly and Gopichand, won the opening game and led 18-15 in the third game. The Indian team that won the bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games lost the opportunity to compete in the final after giving up six straight points.
Saina Nehwal, who won bronze in London Olympics 2012, and Lakshya Sen, India's top men's singles badminton player, both lost early in the competition.
The next opportunity to watch Indian shuttlers compete will be in the Australian Open 2022 BWF Super 300 competition, which starts on November 15.
( With inputs from ANI )
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