Indian shuttler Parupalli Kashyap squandered a dominating position to crash out of the Indonesian Open Super Series with a semi-final loss to eighth seed Momota Kento in Jakarta on Saturday.
The Indian, who defeated world number one Chen Long in the quarter-finals on Friday, lost 21-12, 17-21, 19-21 in a draining battle which lasted an hour and 11 minutes.
Kashyap was quick off the blocks, taking a 2-0 lead to start with, but Kento did not let him go off the hook as he drew level at 6-6.
The battle was neck-and-neck from here on before Kashyap grabbed an 11-8 lead. Then he reeled off six consecutive point to take control of the game and pocket it in 16 minutes.
Kento tried to stage a recovery in the second game and opened a 5-1 lead but Kashyap did not let the momentum slip and went ahead at 9-5.
However, more twists and turns followed as Kento and Kashyap engaged in a see-saw battle where momentum shifted rapidly.
Kento held his nerve and after grabbing three game points, sealed it in the very first to take the match into the third game.
The decider turned out to be a thriller as both the players stepped it up. Kashyap, however, broke away with a 15-10 lead only to let the match fritter away from his grasp.
Image: Indian shuttler Parupalli Kashyap
Photograph: PTI
