India’s challenge at the Japan Open ended with B Sai Praneeth’s loss to top seed and home hero Kento Momota in the semifinals in Tokyo on Saturday.
The Indian lost 18-21, 12-21 in a semifinal lasting 45 minutes. Momota had also beaten Sai at the Singapore Open earlier this year.
Sai had made the Japen Open semifinals beating Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto on Friday.
India’s challenge in the women’s singles ended on Friday when PV Sindhu lost to Akane Yamaguchi in the quarterfinals. The Japanese shuttler had also defeated Sindhu in the Indonesia Open final last week.