Incheon: Shuttler Parupalli Kashyap on Saturday bowed out of the Korea Open after suffering a straight-games defeat in the semi-finals of the men's single event against World No. 1 Kento Momota of Japan.
Kashyap, who was the only Indian left in the tournament after all the star shuttlers made early round exits, lost 13-21, 15-21 in a match that lasted 40 minutes at the Incheon Airport Skydome. With the win, the Japanese extended his overall lead against Kashyap to 3-0.
The 33-year-old Indian, who had progressed to the semi-final after defeating Denmark's Jan O Jorgensen 24-22, 21-8 on Friday, was unable to maintain his good start in the opening game and went into the mid-game break with the score reading 7-11. The Japanese didn't give any chance to Kashyap after the resumption and won the game 21-13.
In the second game, the Indian gave his best and tried hard to close the gap as he won six straight points to make it 9-9. However, after the points were tied at 12-12, Momota came back roaring and he first picked up five straight points to make it 17-12 and then went on to win the game 21-15. He will now be facing Taiwan's Tien Chen Chou in the final.
