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Unnati Hooda in action© X (Twitter)
Rising shuttlers Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda ended their impressive runs with semifinal finishes in the men's and women's singles respectively, bringing curtains down on India's campaign at the USD 240,000 BWF Taipei Open Super 300 in Taipei on Saturday. Ayush, 20, a bronze medallist at the 2023 World Junior Championships, fought hard before going down 18-21, 17-21 to local favourite and world No. 7 Chou Tien Chen, a veteran of nearly two decades on the international circuit.
Earlier, Unnati, the 2022 Odisha Masters and 2023 Abu Dhabi Masters winner, showed early promise but couldn't sustain the momentum, losing 19-21, 11-21 in 43 minutes to top seed and world No. 8 Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan, the 2022 World Junior Champion.
Armed with a powerful smash and solid net play, Ayush had beaten top names including All England runner-up Lee Chia Hao, former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, and Canada's Brian Yang in earlier rounds.
He began strongly against Chou, attacking the forecourt and using sharp angles to build an 8-4 lead. But a few unforced errors allowed Chou to close the gap to 10-9 before taking a narrow lead at the break.
From 11-11, both players matched each other point for point. Ayush continued to push with his forehand smashes and attacking play, but Chou's experience showed.
At 18-18, the local star produced a body smash and followed it with a sharp backhand to take the opening game.
The intensity remained high in the second game. Ayush stayed aggressive, mixing up his strokes well to keep Chou guessing and led 11-10 at the interval.
However, Chou quickly turned the tables, winning a net duel and a parallel exchange to go up 13-11. Ayush fought back to 14-13, but a couple of long shots hurt his rhythm.
Chou kept up the pressure with angled returns, pushing Ayush to the corners and earning four match points at 20-16. The Indian saved one but eventually sent a backhand into the net to concede the match.
Hooda vs Miyazaki
Hooda started brightly, showing good control in the front court and using her smashes well to unsettle Miyazaki, opening up a 7-3 lead.
A body smash, a quick net return, and a deceptive block gave her an 11-6 advantage at the break.
After the change of ends, errors crept into Hooda's game. Miyazaki narrowed the gap to 10-12 and eventually levelled at 18-all when Hooda netted a return.
The Japanese grabbed a game point as Hooda went wide and sealed it with a perfectly placed straight smash.
Miyazaki raced to a 4-0 lead in the second game as Hooda looked rattled. Trailing 2-8, the Indian missed key opportunities, including a point when her opponent was on the floor.
Hooda's inconsistency continued, while Miyazaki stayed sharp, capitalising on a lucky net chord and building a 15-6 lead before closing out the match with ease.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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