Their dreams of a maiden Grand Prix gold title went up in smoke after the Indian men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy suffered a straight-game loss in the final of the US Open badminton tournament in New York on Sunday.
The World No 26 Indian pair played some brilliant badminton last week to reach their maiden final but failed in the final, losing to Chinese duo Junhui Li and Yuchen Liu 12-21, 16-21 in a 32-minute summit clash.
Manu and Sumeeth blew a 6-2 lead in both the first and second games to eventually lose the match.
In the first game, Manu and Sumeeth opened up a 3-0 lead early on and then extended it to 6-2 but the Chinese pair clawed back at 8-8 before turning the tables at 11-8.
The Indian pair blasted four straight points to once again wrest back a slender lead at 12-11, but they completely lost the plot after that as Junhui and Yuchen reeled off 10 straight points to earn the bragging rights.
In the second game, Manu and Sumeeth once again led 6-2 early on but Junhui and Yuchen broke off at 8-8 even as the Indian pair crumbled.
Image: India badminton players Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy
Photograph: Getty Images
