Lucknow: Former national champion Rituparna Das played her heart out before going down to Thailand’s Phittayaporn Chaiwan to bow out of the Syed Modi International badminton tournament here Saturday.
The 23-year-old Indian, who had claimed the Polish Open title in 2016 and 2018, went down fighting 22-24 15-21 to Chaiwan in a 39-minute women’s singles semifinal match.
World No. 40 Rituparna, who had reached the finals of Dubai International this year, came into the tournament with a 0-1 head-to-head record against her Thai opponent, having lost their only meeting at the Vietnam Open last year.
Rituparna fell behind 1-6 early on but she made an impressive comeback to grab a 14-11 lead at one stage. Chaiwan then opened up a slender 15-14 lead before moving neck and neck with the Indian.
The duo fought hard before the Thai player managed to seal the opening game at 24-22.
In the second game, Rituparna was 7-3 up but she once again squandered the lead and allowed Chaiwan to move ahead after trailing 12-15 to seal the contest with nine straight points.
PTI
