Rituparna loses in semifinals of Syed Modi International

Former national champion Rituparna Das played her heart out before going down to Thailand's Phittayaporn Chaiwan to bow out of the Syed Modi International badminton tournament here on Saturday.

The 23-year-old Indian, who had claimed the Polish Open title in 2016 and 2018, went down fighting 22-24 15-21 to Chaiwan in a 39-minute women's singles semifinal match.

World No. 40 Rituparna, who had reached the finals of Dubai International this year, came into the tournament with a 0-1 head-to-head record against her Thai opponent, having lost their only meeting at the Vietnam Open last year.

Rituparna fell behind 1-6 early on but she made an impressive comeback to grab a 14-11 lead at one stage.

Chaiwan then opened up a slender 15-14 lead before moving neck and neck with the Indian.

The duo fought hard before the Thai player managed to seal the opening game at 24-22.

In the second game, Rituparna was 7-3 up but she once again squandered the lead and allowed Chaiwan to move ahead after ...