Badminton, Spain Masters Super 300: B Sumeeth Reddy, Sikki Reddy lose in mixed doubles semi-final

The Indian challenge at the 2024 Spain Masters Super 300 ended as the mixed doubles duo of B Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy lost in straight games in the semi-finals in Madrid on Saturday.

The husband-wife pairing went down 17-21, 12-21 to Indonesia’s Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari in a match that lasted just under half an hour.

In the first game, the Indonesian pair gained a quick lead, winning four consecutive points. But the Indians then fought back to level things at 6-all. Every time Rivaldy and Mentari would build a lead, Sumeeth and Sikki would pull things back on level terms.

However, the Indonesians turned things around after they levelled the scoreline at 16-all, and then won four points on the go to reach game point and eventually win the first game 21-17.

The second game began in a more even fashion with both pairings exchanging serves until the scoreline was 8-all. Then, Rivaldy and Mentari won eight points in a row, effectively stifling Sumeeth and Sikki, who weren’t able to recover after that. The Indonesians then wrapped up the game 21-12, and ultimately the match.