Korea Open: Kashyap knocked out in semis

Indian shuttler P Kashyap's good run at the Korea Open came to an end after he suffered a narrow defeat against top seed Son Wan Ho in the semi-finals of the Grand Prix Gold tournament in Jeju, Korea, on Saturday.

Kashyap, who is on a comeback trail after recovering from a series of injuries, blew a 14-10 and 12-10 advantage in the two games to lose 21-23, 16-21 against the local favourite in a 49-minute men's singles contest.

The Indian made a positive start, surging to a 5-1 lead early on in the opening game. But Son slowly and steadily narrowed the gap and eventually caught up with Kashyap at 15-15.

Kashyap moved to a 18-16 lead and had a chance to seal the opening game when he was leading 21-20 but Son fought back to take the first game.

In the second game, Son dominated the proceedings as he moved to a 4-1 lead and even though Kashyap clawed back at 6-6 and then grabbed a slender lead at 12-10, the Korean broke off at 13-13 and slowly moved ahead to eventually shut the door on the Indian.

Image: P Kashyap

Photograph: Bazuki Muhammad/Reuters