Kashyap prevails over Liew, faces Jorgensen hurdle in quarters
Incheon, September 26
Shuttler Parupalli Kashyap advanced to the quarterfinals of the Korea Open badminton tournament after a three-game triumph over Malaysia’s Daren Liew.
The 33-year-old from Hyderabad prevailed 21-17 11-21 21-12 over Liew, who is a 2018 World Championships bronze medallist, in a contest that lasted 56 minutes. He will next square off against former world No. 2, Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen, an opponent he last played five years ago at the Denmark Open. The 31-year-old Danish shuttler beat eight seeded Indonesian Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 17-21 21-16 21-13 in 58 minutes.
“In the second game he (Liew) was playing really well. I was struggling and once he had a big lead, he played some very good shot. It was tough to make the scores equal. In the third game, I pushed the tempo and played a fast-paced game. I didn’t give him a big lead,” Kashyap said. On playing Jorgensen after a long gap, Kashyap said: “It would be a good match. He beat Ginting, so he is in good form. I don’t know why he didn’t play the China Open. It will be a tough match. Let’s see.”
Lone Indian
The 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist is the lone Indian left in the fray in the BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament. Kashyap entered the match with a 2-2 head-to-head record against Liew, having beaten the Malaysian on his way to the Commonwealth Games gold in 2014.
Early lead
Liew opened up a 4-2 lead early on but Kashyap ensured he had an 11-8 advantage at the interval. The Indian reeled off four straight points after the break to make it 15-10. Liew reduced the deficit to 14-15 before Kashyap accumulated three points at 18-17 to pocket the opening game.
In the second game, Liew grabbed 13 straight points to create a huge gap, which Kashyap couldn’t bridge to allow the Malaysian to roar back into the contest. In the decider, Kashyap surged from 1-2 to 12-2 with 11 straight points. The Indian continued to move ahead even as Liew crumbled. Earlier, world champion PV Sindhu and the seasoned Saina Nehwal crashed out following first-round setbacks. — PTI
2-4 Parupalli Kashyap’s head-to-head record against world No. 2 Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark
