Malaysia Masters 2026 | Ashmita Chaliha knocked out by Line Kjaersfeldt in quarterfinal clash

India’s campaign at the Malaysia Masters 2026 ended on Friday (May 22) after Ashmita Chaliha went down fighting against Denmark’s Line Kjaersfeldt in the women’s singles quarterfinals in Kuala Lumpur. Ashmita made an impressive start and claimed the opening game, but the world No. 71 was eventually beaten 21-23, 21-18, 21-11 by the higher-ranked Kjaersfeldt, who is currently world No. 23.

The Indian shuttler controlled much of the first game and held an 11-6 advantage at the interval, although Kjaersfeldt fought back to level the scores at 17-17, Ashmita kept her composure and clinched the game on her third game point opportunity.

The second game saw the momentum swing in the Dane’s favour. Ashmita again began strongly, racing to a 10-5 lead, but Kjaersfeldt fought back to make it 13-13 before reeling off four consecutive points to move ahead 18-15 and eventually take the game to force a decider.

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In the final game, Kjaersfeldt took firm control after the scores were tied at 4-4. The Danish player won four straight points to open up an 8-4 lead, although Ashmita narrowed the gap to 8-6, Kjaersfeldt responded with another five-point streak to extend her lead to 13-6 and comfortably seal the match.

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This was the second meeting between the two players, with Kjaersfeldt also defeating Ashmita in three games at the Thailand Masters 2023.

Earlier, Ashmita stormed into the women's singles quarterfinal with a 21-13, 21-16 win over Malaysia's Goh Jin Wei on Thursday.

Indian badminton players will next compete at the Singapore Open Super 750 tournament, which begins on Tuesday.

With inputs from agencies