Ashmita Chaliha Goes Down Fighting In Malaysia Masters Quarters As Indian Challenge Ends

Last Updated:May 22, 2026, 13:23 IST

Ashmita Chaliha loses Malaysia Masters Super 500 quarterfinal to Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt 23-21, 18-21, 11-21 after early lead, ending comeback run from knee injury

India’s Ashmita Chaliha produced a spirited performance before narrowly going down to world No. 23 Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt of Denmark in the women’s singles quarterfinals of the Malaysia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament here on Friday.

Making a comeback after an eight-month rehabilitation following a medial meniscus tear in her right knee, the world No. 71 squandered a hard-fought opening game advantage to lose 23-21, 18-21, 11-21 to the eighth seed in a contest lasting a little over an hour at the Axiata Arena.

How Ashmita Chaliha Lost?

Ashmita Chaliha started brightly, opening up an 11-6 lead at the interval in the first game.

Line clawed her way back after the break to close the gap to 13-12 and later moved ahead 19-18, but the Indian held her nerve in a gruelling battle to take the game.

The second game followed a similar pattern as Chaliha again surged ahead 10-5 before the Dane restored parity at 13-13. Line then pulled away from 15-15 to force a decider.

The final game, however, was largely one-way traffic as Line stamped her authority early with an 8-4 lead and never allowed Chaliha a way back, comfortably sealing the contest to enter the semifinals.

Ashmita Chaliha had recorded a comfortable 21-13, 21-16 win over Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei after the rest of the Indian challenge ended.

India’s Poor Outing

Kjaersfeldt advanced after defeating India’s Malvika Bansod, who squandered a one-game lead to lose 21-16, 8-21, 15-21 in a 59-minute battle.

In another women’s singles match, reigning Thailand Masters champion Devika Sihag was outclassed by top seed Chen Yufei of China, who secured a 21-16, 21-13 victory in 36 minutes.

India’s mixed doubles pair Sathwik Kanapuram and Radhika Sharma also bowed out after a hard-fought 12-21, 25-27 defeat to the American duo Presley Smith and Jennie Gai.

In men’s doubles, the Indian pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun exited following a 14-21, 15-21 loss to China’s Hu Ke Yuan and Lin Xiang Yi.

India had endured a disappointing outing on Wednesday as well, with the likes of Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy crashing out of the tournament.

(With inputs from Agencies)

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