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Paris Olympics 2024 Badminton: Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto end campaign after heartbreaking loss

India's women's doubles pair, Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto, ended their campaign at the Paris 2024 Olympics with a disappointing loss to Australia's Angela Yu and Setyana Mapasa on Tuesday, July 30. The Indian duo faced a tough challenge from the lower-ranked Australian pair and succumbed to a 21-15, 21-10 defeat.

The match began with long rallies, with both teams fighting hard to stay neck and neck with each other. Crasto's impressive control at the net helped the Indians just edge forward and narrowly lead 11-9 at the interval.

The intense battle continued post-interval, with neither pair able to secure a significant lead. However, a shift in momentum saw the Australians surge ahead to 16-13. Despite the Indians' best efforts, Yu and Mapasa extended their lead, ultimately closing the first game at 21-15.

In the second game, the Australians launched a relentless attack, which the Indians struggled to defend against. Yu and Mapasa quickly established an early 7-3 lead, widening the gap to 16-7. The Indian pair made several unforced errors, further widening the gap between the two pairs. The Australians continued their dominance, winning the second game 21-10 and securing the match.

With this loss, Ponnappa and Crasto ended their Olympic campaign without a single victory. They went down to South Korea’s Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong 18-21, 10-21 in their opening match at the Paris Olympics and also lost 11-21,12-21 to the fourth seeds from Japan, Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida, in their second group-stage match.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty top group, enter quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics 2024

Meanwhile, India’s men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty comfortably defeated Indonesia’s Muhammad Rian Ardianto and Fajar Alfian 21-13, 21-13 in their final group-stage match, finishing at the top of their group.

The Indian duo will advance to the quarterfinals undefeated. However, the Indian pair will have to wait to see who they are up against, as the draws for the knockout stages will be made only after all the group-stage matches have been completed.

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