Commonwealth Games gold medallist Parupalli Kashyap failed to pass the Asian Games test as the ace shuttler lost to World No.1 Lee Chong Wei 0-2 in the men’s singles badminton pre-quarterfinals at the Gyeyang Gymnasium, in Incheon on Friday.
It was also heartbreak for India’s mixed doubles pair of B. Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri, who lost a hard fought battle in the quarterfinals after losing to the Singapore pair of Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Yu Yan Vanessa Neo 21-18 21-23 21-15 in just under 50 minutes.
The duo had notched up a stunning straight-game win over World No.10 Chinese pair of Liu Xiaolong and Qiu Zihan in the pre-quarterfinals on Thursday.
Earlier in the men’s singles match, the top Malaysian shuttler dispatched the unseeded Kashyap 21-12 21-11 in straight games of 17 minutes each.
Kashyap, 28, who got a bye in the opening round, did get the better of Afghanistan’s Iqbal Ahmad Shekib in the second round but failed to pass the top test.
The Hyderabadi shuttler looked overawed by Chong Wei’s presence and committed a lot of unforced errors despite repeated warnings from coach Pullela Gopichand.
World No.10 P.V. Sindhu had already bowed out of the women’s single event while sixth-seeded Saina Nehwal is still in contention to win a medal.
