Badminton WCC: Arjun/Amsakarunan duo rue mistakes after losing to Korean pair

New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) India’s M.R Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan blamed costly mistakes and their inability to close out a tight opening game after their men’s doubles campaign at the BWF World Championships 2026 ended with a straight-game defeat to South Korea’s M.H. Kang and D. Ki in the Round of 32 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.

The Indian pair, having progressed to the last 32 after their opponents in the first round, Scott Guildea and Paul Reynolds of Ireland, retired due to injury, were beaten 21-17, 21-14 by the Korean pair.

Reflecting on the defeat, Amsakarunan said the match was closely fought until the Indians began making errors at a crucial stage of the opening game.

“We were playing good. That Korean defense was like, we knew before the match only; it’s not an easy match. We have to get points of 10 to 12, 15 rallies minimum. That was good. Our game was close, like very close, neck and neck, 15-all. After that, simple errors on our side. The second set was, you know, that one, like a slower set; we went to a slower set. That smashes and all, can’t finish. So, it’s okay; it’s a good game.

“Looking forward to next tournament,” Hariharan said.

Arjun, meanwhile, insisted that the pace of the Korean pair was not the main problem, pointing instead to the Indians’ failure to execute their game plan in the decisive moments.

“No, it was definitely not the pace, because in the first game we were scoring points with pace, I believe. I mean, our tactics were to, you know, start from the faster side, get those attacking smashes. And, you know, with the pace, make them move side to side. Koreans typically have a game style in which they are very strong in defense. They are not very fast with the side-to-side movement. But, yeah, our tactics were that. We executed it well in the first, but couldn’t close out the first. That cost us the match,” Arjun said.

The Indians had also surrendered several points after the score reached 15-15 in the opening game, but Arjun did not single out their service as the decisive factor.

“No, service- all of those were the same. I think in the first game, from 15-all, we wouldn’t have made those, I mean, errors that cost us the match. It was an either-side match if we had won the first set. Because playing from that side was a difficult task because of the slower shuttle. But, yeah, mistakes cost us the match,” Arjun said.

The Indians found the second match more difficult since the slower conditions harmed their attack and enabled the Koreans to apply more pressure on their defence.

When asked about the Korean pair’s ability to attack with smashes at a height around the knee, Arjun stated that the reason for the difference was mainly due to the depth of the shuttle rather than any particular tactic on the part of their opponents.

“No, I mean, I didn’t think they had a tactic as you said. Probably people sitting outside would have felt that because, you know, coming from the faster side. Or if you had seen us starting from the faster side, our tactics were almost the same to, you know, get those attacks. So when we went on to the second set to the slower side, probably our lifts were not going that high or behind. That’s why they got the smashes. I mean, the depth was pretty much, you know, coming down to our knees,” Arjun said.

The defeat brought an end to the Indian pair’s run at the home World Championships, with Arjun and Amsakarunan unable to build on their opening-round progression after their Irish opponents retired while trailing in the second game.

–IANS

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