After a slow start, a strong comeback and an error-filled journey to the finish, P. Kashyap knew exactly where he went wrong as his commendable campaign ended in the India Open badminton tournament on Saturday.
A well-composed Won Ho Shon, ranked 13 places above Kashyap at 17, overcame the gritty Indian in their 71-minute encounter during which the weekend crowd played its part to the hilt at the Siri Fort Stadium.
The 21-14, 19-21, 21-16 scoreline does not reflect the Korean's control over the proceedings. He never looked in danger of losing even after Kashyap showed great resilience to clinch the second game.
In Sunday's final, Shon will be looking for his first win in five meetings against World No. 1 and defending champion Lee Chong Wei. The Malaysian, expectedly, raced away to an emphatic 21-13, 21-17 triumph over Chinese Taipei's Jen Hao Hsu in just 33 minutes in the other semifinal.
The women's final will feature second-seeded Chinese Li Xuerui and sixth seed Juliane Schenk of Germany. Li, who won her second Asian championship last week, has not dropped a game to Juliane in three meetings.
Juliane, who upstaged top seed Wang Shixian in the quarterfinals, took out another Chinese, qualifier Xiao Jia Chen 21-16, 21-13, with another immaculate display. The other semifinal was a non-starter with fourth-seeded Chinese Jiang Yanjiao pulling out due to an ankle injury.
Match of the day
The match of the day was the one featuring crowd favourite Kashyap and Shon, the conqueror of second seed and former World No. 1 Peter Gade on Friday.
After Shon raced away with the first game using some powerful smashes, subtle deception, good control at the net and by repeatedly succeeding in catching Kashyap on the wrong foot, the Indian bounced back slowly in the second.
Kashyap's anticipation was better in the second game and so was his racquet preparation. He matched the Korean at the net, lifted the half-smashes with confidence and eventually levelled the match on the second game point.
In the decider, Kashyap led till 10-8 before the Korean won five straight points. This turned the match decisively in Shon's favour with Kashyap committing far too many unforced errors, more so at the net.
Bridging the gap
His smashes, too, landed on the sidelines to give Shon a sizeable 18-12 lead. Much to the joy of the noisy crowd, Kashyap bridged the gap to four points, but the Korean was not to be denied a place in the final.
“After the second game, I thought I was in control of the match. I was in the rallies but I missed lots of smashes at crucial stages. If I remember well, I missed four smashes in the final game.
“My coach [Gopi Chand] kept telling me to keep it in, but it never happened. Too many unforced errors cost me the match,” added Kashyap, who is looking to play in Indonesia and Singapore before the Olympic Games in London.
The results (semifinals):
Men: Singles: Lee Chong Wei (Mas) bt Jen Hao Hsu (Tpe) 21-13, 21-7; Wan Ho Shon (Kor) bt P. Kashyap 21-14, 19-21, 21-16.
Doubles: Issara Bodin & Jongjit Maneepong (Tha) bt Angga Pratama & Ryan Agung Saputra (Ina) 21-15, 20-22, 21-15; Sung Hyun Ko & Yeaon Seong Yoo (Kor) bt V. Shem Goh & Khim Wah Lim (Mas) 21-15, 21-16.
Women: Singles: Juliane Schenk (Ger) bt Xiao Jia Chen (Chn) 21-16, 21-13; Li Xuerui (Chn) w/o Jiang Yangjiao (Chn).
Doubles: Yixin Bao & Quianxin Zhong (Chn) bt Miyuki Maeda & Satako Suetsuna (Jpn) 25-23, 21-14; Kyung Eun Jung & Ha Na Kim (Kor) bt Fujii Mizuki & Reika Kakiwa (Jpn) 11-21, 21-18, 21-19.
Mixed doubles: Sudket Prapakamol & Saralee Thoungthongkam (Tha) bt Tao Jiaming & Xia Huan (Chn) 21-19, 22-20; Tontowi Ahmed & Lillyana Natsir (Ina) bt Yong Dae Lee & Jung Eun Ha (Kor) 21-7, 21-14.
