Kashyap loses to Chinese Taipei’s Chen in quarterfinals.
Tokyo : It was curtains for India at the US$ 275,000 Japan Open after Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap suffered a straight-game loss to Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen in the men’s singles quarter-final on Friday.
The World No.8, who had a 2-1 record going into the match, lost 14-21, 18-21 to the sixth seed Chen in a 42-minute match at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
Kashyap, who was the lone surviving Indian after top shuttlers Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth and H.S. Prannoy made early exit in the second round, found the going tough against Chen.
In the first game, Chen opened up a 5-2 lead early on and even though Kashyap drew parity with three points, the sixth seed broke off at 8-8 and never looked back to earn the bragging right.
Kashyap held a brief lead at 4-2 in the second game but he could not exert enough pressure on his opponent from Chinese Taipei, who once again raced ahead with six-point burst to lead 8-4 and then slowly kept increasing the distance.
The Indian kept breathing down his neck and even made it to 18-20 but Chen ensured there was no hiccup as he shut the door on Kashyap and entered the semi-finals of the tournament. “I could not play my game. There was a lot of mis-hitting the shuttle and also I made a few wrong judgements,” Kashyap said.
“I got my flow in the second game in the end but it was too late by then. He is playing very well nowadays,” he added.
Kashyap will next play in the Korea Open.
