The Indian campaign at the 2024 China Open Super 1000 came to an end as Malvika Bansod bowed out of the tournament in the women’s singles quarter-finals following a 10-21, 16-21 loss to Akane Yamaguchi on Friday.
The 23-year-old Bansod struggled to find her rhythm in the opening game and was completely outplayed by the two-time world champion. The fourth seeded Yamaguchi raced to an 11-4 lead within seven minutes as the Indian struggled to find answers.
There was no looking back for the Japanese shuttler, who put all her experience to use as Bansod kept erring to win the first game 21-10.
Bansod came back in much better shape for the second game but Yamaguchi upped her game when it mattered to eke out an 11-8 lead at the mid-game interval.
Bansod soon found herself down by eight points post the interval, 11-19, before staging a brief comeback. She won consecutive points to reduce the deficit to four points at 15-19 but Yamaguchi maintained her calm to open up five match points.
Though Bansod saved one match point, Yamaguchi closed off the match without having to break a sweat in 35 minutes.
In the earlier rounds, Bansod came up with upset wins over world No 7 and 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medallist Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the first round round, followed by a win over world No 25 Kirsty Gilmour to get to the quarter-final.
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