Ashmita Chaliha Exits Malaysia Masters After Quarterfinal Defeat
Chaliha's Journey at the Malaysia Masters
File image of Indian veteran player Ashmita Chaliha(Photo: IANS)
Kuala Lumpur, May 22: The journey of Indian badminton player Ashmita Chaliha at the Malaysia Masters concluded as she faced a defeat against Denmark's Line Kjaersfeldt, a former European Games champion, in the women’s singles quarterfinals on Friday. With her exit, India's participation in the BWF Super 500 tournament came to an end.
Ranked 71st in the world, Chaliha began the match on a positive note, winning the first game but ultimately lost to her 23rd-ranked opponent with scores of 23-21, 18-21, 11-21 after 61 minutes of play.
The Indian player started strong, leading 11-6 at the mid-game interval. Despite a strong comeback from Kjaersfeldt, who leveled the score at 17-17, Chaliha managed to secure the first game 23-21 on her third game point.
Chaliha maintained her momentum early in the second game, racing to a 10-5 lead. However, Kjaersfeldt shifted the tide, narrowing the gap to 11-10 at the break. After the interval, the Dane leveled the score at 13-13 and then surged ahead with a four-point streak, ultimately winning the game 21-18 and forcing a decisive third game.
The final game began evenly at 4-4, but Kjaersfeldt quickly took control, establishing a 13-6 lead. Chaliha struggled to recover, and Kjaersfeldt closed out the match with a 21-11 victory, marking the end of India's campaign in Kuala Lumpur.
Earlier, the rest of the Indian team also faced defeats in their matches. Malvika exited in the second round after losing to Kjaersfeldt, while Devika Sihag was eliminated in the same round by former Olympic champion and top seed Chen Yufei from China, with scores of 21-16, 21-13.
In men's doubles, the only Indian pair, MR Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan, were defeated 21-14, 21-15 by China's Hu Keyuan and Lin Xiangyi, ending India's campaign in that category as well.
In mixed doubles, Sathwik Reddy Kanapuram and Radhika Sharma lost 12-21, 25-27 to the American duo of Presley Smith and Jennie Gai.
India's men's singles hopes were dashed in the first round with the defeats of Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy on Wednesday.