Pranaav-Sikki lose in semifinals of India Open

The Indian duo of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki Reddy lost 16-21, 19-21 to the fifth seeded pair of Mathias Christiansen and Christinna Pedersen in the semifinals of the India Open on Saturday.

The eighth seeded Indian pair went down fighting 16-21, 19-21 against the fifth seeded Danish pair, who reached the finals at China Open and Hong Kong Open after starting as a pair at the Denmark Open last year.

Indian mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N. Sikki Reddy lost to Denmark’s Mathias Christiansen and Christinna Pedersen in the semifinals of the USD 350,000 India Open Super 500 tournament on Saturday.

The eighth seeded Indian pair went down fighting 16-21, 19-21 against the fifth seeded Danish pair, who reached the finals at China Open and Hong Kong Open after starting as a pair at the Denmark Open last year.

The Danish duo zoomed to a 8-3 lead but the Indian duo narrowed the deficit to 9-11 at the breather. After the interval, Sikki’s return found the Danes napping as the Indian pair clawed back at 12-12. However, Mathias and Christinna managed to move to a 19-15 lead before sealing the opening game when Pranaav’s return found the net.

Both pairs started the second game on an even footing and split the initial 10 points before Mathias and Christinna entered the break at 11-8 after the former produced a tap at the net. The Indian pair kept breathing down its rival’s neck, moving 10-12 and 12-13, before Sikki unleashed a smash to level par. Mathais and Christinna moved ahead again before the Indiam duo won a video referrel to make it 15-15.

Both teams moved together until 18-18, before Pranaav made a service error followed by an unforced error as the Danish duo claimed two match points and sealed the tie off the next point.