Pranaav-Sikki lose in semis

Tokyo: India's campaign ended at the Japan Open Super Series after the mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy lost narrowly in the semi-finals here on Saturday.

Pranaav and Sikki, who won the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold title in Lucknow earlier this year, squandered the advantage of winning the opening game and went down 21-14, 15-21, 19-21 to the local pair of Takuro Hoki and Sayaka Hirota.

The Indian pair fought hard during the 60-minute battle and managing a 7-4 lead early on before the Japanese combo drew abreast at 9-9. The Indians then moved ahead with a short burst of points to eventually grab the opening game comfortably.

Takuro and Sayaka changed gears in the second and led 4-1 before entering the break at 11-8.Pranaav and Sikki reduced the deficit to 13-15 before the Japanese pair walked away with the game and bounced back in the contest.

The decider turned into a roller-coaster ride initially as both the pairs fought tooth and nail till 8-8 when the Japanese duo opened up a 13-9 lead. The hosts kept their nose ahead despite the Indians breathing down their neck. In the end, Takuro and Sayaka grabbed the one point needed to seal the issue at 20-19.