AUSTRALIA’S badminton squad bowed out of the teams event in Delhi after a 3-1 quarter-final loss to the fourth seeded Singapore.

Coach Lasse Bundgaard said the loss was particularly painful given Australia was well in almost every rally and looked within reach of a Commonwealth Games boilover. Australia was not expected to win, given that our team was seeded below the Singaporeans, but before the tie the players were confident they could spring an upset.

First up in women’s singles, Chia-Chi Huang lost the first game but fought valiantly before succumbing 21-13 22-20.

It set up an Australian fightback in the men’s singles when Nicholas Kidd evened the ledger with a notable win over Singapore’s Yong Zhao Ashton Chen 21-19 21-13.

At 1-1, the Singapore combination of Lei Yao and Shinta Mulia Sari proved too much for three-times Games veteran Kate Wilson-Smith and her partner Rosie Tang in the women’s doubles as they lost 21-16 21-15.

In a hotly contested men’s event, Ross Smith and Glenn Wharfe pushed Singapore’s duo to the limit, but could not steal a set, losing 21-18 21-19.

“I’m very disappointed, we were very, very close,” said Bundgaard.