JOIN USBanga Beats suffered a 1-4 loss at the hands of Delhi Smashers to all but end their chances of making the semifinals of the Indian Badminton League.
Following their disappointing display at the Sree Kanteerava indoor stadium on a controversy-filled Sunday night, Beats ended up at the bottom of the table with nine points from four matches while Smashers moved ahead of them as they gathered five points to add to the eight they had prior this tie to remain in the hunt.
Contrary to what the eventual result was, Beats kicked off their home tie on a high as World No 14 Parupalli Kashyap clinically dispatched B Sai Praneeth. Witnessed by a rather modest crowd, that included former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid and his family, the latest Indian sensation and Beats’ icon player Kashyap put away Sai Praneeth 21-15, 21-11.
In the second tie of the evening, Spain’s Carolina was up against World No 16 Jindapon. The Thai shuttler won 21-17, 15-21, 11-9 to level scores 1-1.
It was crucial that Beats won their men’s doubles encounter to hold an edge against the Smashers but their duo -- Carsten Mogensen and Akshay Dewalkar -- was unable to topple Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Hoeng as the latter won 21-11, 20-21, 11-7 to give Smashers a 2-1 lead.
Local hope and seasoned campaigner Arvind Bhat then walked in with his team in a dire need of a win but it was too much to ask of the 34-year-old. The former National champion, forced to play the second singles under controversial circumstances, went down 18-21, 21-7, 8-11 to bring the curtains on Beats’ campaign. To add insult to injury, Jwala Gutta and V Diju posted a 21-16, 15-21, 11-9 win over the Carolina and Mogensen.