Arctic Open: India shuttler Anmol Kharb’s inspirational run concludes with semi-final defeat

VANTAA(Finland): India shuttler Anmol Kharb’s memorable run at the Arctic Open 2025 badminton tournament’s women’s singles draw ended after a heartbreaking semi-final defeat against Japanese top seed Akane Yamaguchi in Vantaa, Finland, on Saturday.

The 18-year-old shuttler had defeated Denmark’s Amalie Schulz on Friday to storm into her first semi-final in a BWF Super 500 tournament.

However, the top-seeded Japanese shuttler lost the match 21-10, 21-13 in just under half an hour. Kharb currently holds the 62nd spot in the women’s singles badminton rankings. On the other hand, world No. 4 Yamaguchi is a three-time and reigning world champion.

Kharb showed promising intent from the outset at the Vantaan Energia Areena. At the halfway mark, she trailed just a couple of points behind the Japanese ace, who is 10 years older than her. However, after the resumption of the game, Yamaguchi upped the ante with her relentless strokeplay.

She clinched 10 points on the trot to close out the opening game with ease and took a 1-0 lead. In the second game, Yamaguchi raced to a commanding 7-3 advantage before Kharb staged a comeback. She cut down the deficit to just one point at 10-9, but her inspirational fight was short-lived.

Yamaguchi dictated the flow of the play and stormed into the final with ease.

The semi-final defeat marked the end of India’s challenge at the BWF Super 500 badminton tournament. Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, who crashed out of the mixed doubles quarter-finals on Friday. Their defeat saw the end of India’s doubles campaign.

In the men’s category, Tharun Mannepalli was the only Indian men’s singles player to qualify for the second round. Paris 2024 Olympics semi-finalist Lakshya Sen’s campaign ended in the first round, while Kidambi Srikanth handed a walkover to his opponent. Ayush Shetty, who suffered a defeat in the opening round, is the only Indian to win a BWF World Tour title this year, at the US Open. (ANI)