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New Delhi: India’s Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy lost 21-14, 15-21,19-21 to Japan’s Takuro Hoki and Sayaka Hirota at the Japan Open in the mixed doubles semi-final on Saturday.
The Indian pair had previously won the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships at the beginning of the year, but could not progress beyond the second round at a Superseries event before this tournament.
Chopra/Sikki got going quickly as they took an early 5-3 lead in the first game. As they led 8-6, their Japanese opponents started giving them a hard time, pushing forward to level at 9-9. The Indian duo, however, scored two quick points to lead 11-9 going into the changeover.
The Indian duo raced ahead to a 15-10 lead as they scored three back-to-back points to create a five-point margin.
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The gap turned out to be essential as Hoki/Hirota, while continuously scoring points, failed to score more than two points at one go. Chopra/Sikki, thereby, went with the momentum to earn a game point and convert the same soon after.
The second game saw a more defensive side of Hoki/Hirota, only playing their third tournament together as a mixed doubles team, as they led 3-1. They then quickly created a six-point margin early on to lead at 8-2.
Trailing at 7-11 at the changeover, the Indian pair struggled to bridge the gap as the Japanese duo edged ahead. At 10-15, they found their confidence back, scoring three consecutive points to reduce their opponents’ lead. However, Hoki/Hirota, who had found momentum by then, halted their progress to race ahead and take the match to a decider.
The final game started off as a neck-and-neck chase as the two pairs tied at 3-3. Continuing a similar pattern till 9-9, the Japanese duo broke away to lead 11-9 at the changeover.
Capitalising on the lead, Hoki/Hirota took the next two points to lead at 13-9. Chopra/Sikki attempted a comeback, bridging the gap to 12-14. Continuing to trail at 18-19, Chopra/Sikki missed the next shot, giving away two match points to their opponents, which the latter converted in their second attempt to advance to the final.
