Kuala Lumpur, May 22 -- India's challenge at the Malaysia Masters 2026 badminton tournament in Kuala Lumpur ended with Ashmita Chaliha's defeat to former European Games champion Line Kjaersfeldt of Denmark in the women's singles quarter-finals on Friday.
Chaliha, 71st in the badminton rankings, won the opening game but eventually went down against the 23rd-ranked opponent 21-23, 21-18, 21-11 in 61 minutes.
The Indian badminton player looked in control early on and raced to an 11-6 lead at the opening-game interval, according to olympics.com.
Though Line Kjaersfeldt clawed her way back and levelled the scores at 17-all, Ashmita Chaliha held her nerve in the closing stages and sealed the opener on her third game-point opportunity.
The mom...