World No 36 Kiran George on Friday was eliminated from the 24th edition of the Indonesia Masters Super 500 after losing in straight-sets to Malaysia’s Kunvalut Vitidsarn in the quarterfinals. Kiran lost 14-21, 6-21 to the world No 9 player in 43 minutes.
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He was the last Indian in the tournament as both Lakshya Sen and Priyanshu Rajawat lost their Round of 16 match on Thursday.
In the first set, Kiran got off to a good start in the initial exchanges but found himself trailing 8-11 after the interval. After the break, Kiran managed to keep pace with Vitidsarn, but the latter went on a 4-point winning run to take a commanding lead and finally closed the set 21-14.
In the second game, Kiran showed more intensity and caught up with Vitidsarn at 3-3 and 4-4. However, this was short-lived as Vitidsarn won 11 consecutive points on both ends of the half-break to take an unassailable lead. Kiran was able to win just one more point, while Vitidsarn had a massive 14 match points, which he was able to hold off with ease to finish off the game 21-6.
Kiran’s loss ended India’s charge in the tournament, with no Indians qualifying for the semi-final.
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