Nitchaon Jindapol's stunning win against world No.1 Tai Tzu-ying the day before counted for little when a cramp cut her down and her bid to reach the Indonesia Open final came to a painful end yesterday.
The 26-year-old Thai put up a brave fight throughout her semi-final against Sayaka Sato but suffered the agonising cramp in her left thigh midway through the decisive third game and never recovered from there.
She lost to fellow unseeded player Sato of Japan 13-21, 21-18, 21-14 in a draining 79-minute encounter in the US$1 million BWF Superseries Premier event in Jakarta.
At 9-10 in the third game, a visibly distraught Nitchaon was seen crouching down and clutching her left thigh after a long rally. She decided to continue after receiving treatment but it was obvious that a comeback was beyond her reach.
Sato also beat Nitchaon in three games at the recent Thailand Open.
Sato awaits the winner of the other semi-final match between Zhang Beiwen of the US and fifth seed Sung Ji-Hyun of South Korea. Sung is the only seeded player left in the last four.
India's unseeded HS Prannoy's amazing run in Jakarta ended when he lost to Kazumasa Sakai of Japan 17-21, 28-26, 21-18 in the men's singles semi-finals yesterday.
Prannoy upset Olympic champion Chen Long of China and top seed Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the previous rounds.
However, Prannoy's compatriot, unseeded Srikanth Kidambi, continued to fly the flag for India after he knocked out second seed Son Wan-Ho of South Korea 21-15, 14-21, 24-22 to set up a title showdown with Sakai.
In the mixed doubles event, top seeds Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen survived a tough test against fellow Chinese Liu Yuchen and Tang Jinhua to book their berth in the final.
They overcame the unseeded pair 21-10, 21-23, 21-16 in 53 minutes.
Sixth seeds Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia were to play Malaysia's Chan Peng Soon and Peck Yen Wei in the other semi-final.
Men's doubles pair Kittinupong Kedren and Dechapol Puavaranukroh and women's doubles team of Puttita Supajirakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai both lost in the quarter-finals on Friday night.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN DRAW
Ratchanok Intanon will face a qualifier in the first round at the US$750,000 Australian Open in Sydney this week.
The 22-year-old could meet world No.1 Tai Tzu-ying in the second round. Tai has been drawn to face another Thai Pornpawee Chochuwong in the first round.
Top seed Tai will be desperate to rediscover her winning form after her loss to Nitchaon Jindapol in the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Open.
Nitchaon also has a tricky opener against China's sixth seed Sun Yu, while Busanan Ongbamrungphan will face Michelle Li of Canada.