India's challenge ends in quarterfinals of Orleans Masters 2024

NEW DELHI: India's challenge at the Orleans Masters 2024 badminton tournament in France ended with the Indian men's doubles pair of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Sai Pratheek K losing their quarter-final match on Friday, as per Olympics.com.

Competing against Denmark's world No. 46 pair of Andreas Sondergaard and Jesper Toft, the Indian badminton players, ranked 20 places below their opponents, lost the contest 21-17, 21-16 in 40 minutes.

Krishna Prasad Garaga and Sai Pratheek K started the match on equal footing but the gap widened between the two pairs as Sondergaard and Jesper Toft took a four-point lead at the break and held on to it till the end of the first game.

The Indian badminton duo had a healthy 5-0 advantage at the start of the second game. However, Krishna Prasad Garaga and Sai Pratheek K conceded the upper hand to trail by a point at the break.

Krishna Prasad Garaga and Sai Pratheek K stayed in the game with the scores level at 14-all but Sondergaard and Toft converted seven of the next nine points in their favour to enter the semi-finals of the BWF Super 300 event.

With India's top badminton players competing at the All England Open in Birmingham, Krishna Prasad Garaga and Sai Pratheek K were the only Indian challenge to reach the quarter-finals at the Orleans Masters 2024.

Youngsters Malvika Bansod and Kiran George, who were seeded entries in the women's and men's singles events, respectively, crashed out in the first round.

Orleans Masters, like the All England Open, offers crucial ranking points to badminton players for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The ranking period for badminton started on May 1, 2023, and will end next month.