Indian campaign at the 2024 Japan Open Super 500 came to an end as men’s singles shuttler Sathish Kumar Karunakaran bowed out in the Round of 16 on Thursday.
Up against a higher ranked Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand, the 23-year-old from Chennai went down 21-18, 18-21, 8-21 after being a game up.
The Thai shuttler started off well in the contest, opening up a 10-4 lead and later leading 18-13 in the opening game. Kumar, however, put up a brilliant fightback as he pocketed eight consecutive points to stun Wangcharoen and take the first game 21-18.
Kumar rode on his new found momentum to open up an 11-9 lead at the mid-game interval in the second game, but the joy was shortlived as Wangcharoen forced a decider.
The world No 40 completely dominated the third game, leaving no room for error as Kumar surrendered in 70 minutes.
Earlier, Kumar had advanced to the pre-quarterfinals after his opponent Anders Antonsen withdrew midway from their Round of 32 clash, on Wednesday.