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India's Ayush Shetty's impressive BWF World Championships campaign came to an end in the pre-quarterfinals as the World No. 22 suffered a 19-21, 11-21 defeat to familiar foe Alwi Farhan of Indonesia here on Thursday.
Playing in front of an expectant home crowd at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Ayush fought hard in the opening game but could not sustain the challenge against the Indonesian, according to ESPN. Ayush, who had stunned World No. 1 Shi Yuqi in the previous round, made a bright start but struggled to find his rhythm against Alwi's pace and movement. The Indian appeared set to take the opening game after fighting back from 14-18 down to move ahead 19-18. However, he could not close it out, allowing Alwi to win three successive points and take the game 21-19. The second game proved more one-sided, with Alwi taking control of the rallies and repeatedly putting Ayush under pressure. The Indonesian targeted Ayush's right hip with body smashes and exploited the Indian's short lifts to build a commanding advantage. Alwi continued to move Ayush around the court and dictated the pace of the rallies. The Indonesian raced through the second game 21-11 to seal his place in the quarterfinals. The defeat ended India's men's singles campaign at the World Championships. Lakshya Sen, India's top-ranked men's singles shuttler, had earlier bowed out after losing to World No. 92 Garret Tan of the USA on Wednesday. Ayush's exit was also India's second defeat of the day at the World Championships. Earlier, mixed doubles pair Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto lost 16-21, 5-21 to China's Guo Xinwa and Chen Fanghui in the Round of 16. There was some cheer for the home side, however, as women's doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand advanced to the quarterfinals with a dominant 21-16, 21-12 win over Japan's seventh seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi. The world No. 39, the Indian pair, who are making their way back following Treesa's injury, produced a controlled performance to move within one win of securing a World Championships medal. PV Sindhu was also scheduled to face China's Wang Zhiyi in her Round of 16 clash, while men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were set to take on Malaysia's Yap Roy King and Junaidi Arif later on Thursday. (ANI)
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