Badminton

The Commonwealth Games 2022 champion Lakshya Sen lost 21-13, 17-21, 13-21 to world No. 5. Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand. Ranked No. 23 in the badminton rankings, Lakshya was aiming to make his first BWF World Tour final since reaching the All England Open 2022 title clash.

Kiran George had defeated third seed Shi Yu Qi of China in the first round and then got the better of another Chinese shuttler, Weng Hong Yang in the pre-quarters. Playing in a quarterfinal of a BWF World Tour Super 500 event for the first time, Kiran George, the Odisha Open 2022 winner, conceded an early lead as the French player surged to a 5-0 lead.

Earlier, Ashmita Chaliha and Malvika Bansod made the women's singles main draw at the tournament. Ashmita beat compatriot Unnati Hooda 21-16, 13-21, 21-19 in her first qualifier and then knocked out Kristin Kuuba of Estonia to seal a berth in the main draw.

World No.9 Prannoy received a walkover in his semifinal clash after Indonesi's Christian Adinata pulled out with an injury towards the end of the first game. It will be his first Malaysia Masters final.

Sindhu and Prannoy, India's highest-ranked players in the women's and men's singles rankings respectively, were the only Indians remaining in the contention as Kidambi Srikanth's campaign ended in the quarterfinals, losing to Christian Adinata of Indonesia in three games.

Prannoy, ranked 9th in the latest BWF Rankings, continued his brilliant run in the BWF World Tour Super 500 event in the Malaysian capital, stunning All England champion Li Shi Feng of China with a superb come-from-behind victory in three games on Court 1 at Axiata Arena here. Prannoy, who had started his campaign here with a hard-fought .

The Indian badminton player was slow to get off the blocks and was trailing 3-6 in the first game before she turned the tables and took a 1-0 lead. With the momentum on her side, Malvika rushed to a seven-point lead at 9-2 in the second game. However, Hsiang Ti Lin mounted a stunning comeback to trail by just two points at the break.

The mixed doubles duo of Dhruv Kapila and Ashwini Ponnappa were up against the world No. 8 pair of Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie in the first of the five-match tie. The Indian duo tried hard before losing 16-21, 17-21 in 35 minutes. Kidambi Srikanth, then, suffered a straight game 21-16, 21-11 against Malaysian star shuttler Lee Zii and failed to get the team back on track.

Mixed doubles pair Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping were at their best as they swept Ahmed Salah and Hana Tarek Zaher 21-3, 21-8 to win the opening tie for China. "They didn't make it too difficult for us, so on the court, we just focused on ourselves and tried to find some form and feeling," said Huang.

China has won the Sudirman Cup 12 times in the last 17 editions and reached every final since 1995. The last two tournaments were held in Nanning, China and Vantaa, Finland, with China winning both, reports Xinhua.