The Indian contingent’s journey at the 2024 Australian Open Super 500 concluded on Friday, with all shuttlers from the country exiting the tournament at the quarter-final stage. Despite their spirited performances, the Indian players were unable to advance past this round, marking the end of their campaign.
Olympic-bound HS Prannoy was the last Indian to exit the tournament as he faced a challenging match against Japan’s Kodai Naraoka, ultimately losing 19-21, 13-21 in a contest that lasted just over an hour. Prannoy, ranked 10th in the world, struggled to find his rhythm against the second-seeded Japanese player. Prannoy trailed 5-8 in the opening game but narrowed the gap to 10-11. However, Naraoka seized control after the interval, winning five consecutive points to lead 16-10. Despite Prannoy’s attempts to mount a comeback, he couldn’t turn the game in his favor. The second game saw Prannoy continue to struggle, and Naraoka secured the match in 61 minutes, sending the Indian shuttler out of the tournament.
Earlier in the day, Sameer Verma faced world No. 17 Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei and succumbed to a 12-21, 13-21 defeat in just 38 minutes. Verma, who had previously achieved an upset victory over Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the Round of 16, was unable to replicate his performance against his higher-ranked opponent, bowing out in straight games. The mixed doubles pair of Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy also faced a tough challenge in their quarter-final match. They went down 12-21, 14-21 to the world No. 5 duo of Jiang Zheng Bang and Wei Ya Xin from China. The match lasted just 31 minutes, as the Indian pair struggled to keep up with their formidable opponents.
In the women’s singles quarter-finals, Aakarshi Kashyap lost 17-21, 12-21 to Pai Yu Po. Kashyap fought hard but ultimately could not overcome her opponent, leading to her exit from the tournament.
