Sikki-Pranaav go out in semifinals

Tokyo, Sept. 23: India’s campaign ended at the Japan Open Super Series after the mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N. Sikki Reddy suffered a narrow loss in the semifinals on Saturday.

Pranaav and Sikki, who had clinched the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold title at Lucknow this year, squandered the opening game advantage to go down 21-14, 15-21, 19-21 to the local pair of Takuro Hoki and Sayaka Hirota.

During the 60-minute battle, the Indian pair fought hard, managing a 7-4 lead early on which was erased by the Japanese combo quickly at 9-9. But the Indians moved ahead with a short burst of points to eventually grab the opening game comfortably.

The decider turned into a roller-coaster ride initially as both the pairs fought tooth and nail till 8-8 when the Japanese opened up a 13-9 lead. The hosts kept their nose ahead despite the Indians breathing down their neck. In the end, Takuro and Sayaka grabbed the one point needed to seal the issue.

Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen defeated world number one Son Wan-Ho 21-16, 21-16 in the men’s singles semifinals.

He now faces Malaysian Lee Chong Wei who beat China’s Shi Yuqi 21-19, 21-8.

In the women’s singles, Spain’s Carolina Marin reached the final as Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara dropped out from the semifinals due to knee trouble.

Marin faces China’s He Bingjiao who beat Chen Yufei 21-14, 25-23.