IMAGE: A valiant effort by Kiran George ends in the semifinals. Photograph: Kind Courtesy Kiran George/Instagram
Indian shuttler Kiran George’s impressive run at the Korea Masters came to an end with a semifinal loss to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the men’s singles competition in Iksan City, Korea on Saturday.
The 24-year-old, ranked 41st in the world, went down 12-21 20-22 to the top-seeded and world number five Vitidsarn in the BWF World Tour Super 300 event.
George, who trains at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA), had earlier registered a fine win over fifth seed Takuma Obayashi of Japan in the quarterfinals.
The semifinal loss brought an end to India’s campaign in the tournament. George kept it tight in the opening game, staying level at 5-5 before Kunlavut pulled ahead to 11-6 at the break.
The Thai shuttler extended his lead further, moving to 17-8 after the interval, and quickly sealed the first game.
In the second game, Kunlavut surged to a 13-4 lead, but Kiran mounted a sensational fightback, levelling the score at 20-20.
However, it was Kunlavut who held his nerves to win the final two points and close out the match.
