India falters at Japan Open: Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty knocked out in first round
India’s campaign at the Japan Open Super 750, one of the crucial tune-up events ahead of next month’s World Championships, has gone from bad to worse. After Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty retired midway through their men’s doubles first-round match due to a shoulder injury to Satwik, India’s top singles stars, Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty, bowed out in the opening round on Wednesday, July 15.
Lakshya Sen lost to local hope Koki Watanabe in straight games in his first-round match on Court 1. The world No. 14 was no match for Watanabe, who controlled proceedings from both the front and back court.
Lakshya kept pace with Watanabe in the opening game before the Japanese shuttler, ranked 17th in the world, pulled away at the business end. In the second game, Watanabe was at his aggressive best, finding winners with powerful smashes down the line and across the court, repeatedly pushing Lakshya onto the back foot.
In just 38 minutes, Watanabe sealed a comfortable 21-16, 21-14 victory.
Lakshya has struggled for consistency this season. After reaching the All England Open final in March, he made the quarter-finals of the Singapore Open in May before suffering a first-round exit at the Indonesia Open.
AYUSH LOSES STIFF FIGHT
Meanwhile, rising star Ayush Shetty lost a hard-fought first-round contest against second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand.
Ayush went toe-to-toe with the second seed in the opening game. He was on the brink of a straight-games defeat but saved five match points to force a decider.
However, Ayush was unable to maintain the same intensity in the third and final game. Vitidsarn eventually won the gruelling contest, which lasted one hour and 22 minutes, 21-19, 23-25, 21-15.
There was disappointment in the women’s singles too, as world No. 24 Unnati Hooda lost to lower-ranked Huang Yu-Hsun of Chinese Taipei 21-16, 16-21, 15-21.
On Tuesday, PV Sindhu, currently ranked world No. 10, produced a composed performance to register a 21-14, 21-11 victory over Malaysia’s world No. 37 Wong Ling Ching in the opening round of the BWF Super 750 event.
India’s Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, however, advanced to the second round after defeating Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Julie Macpherson 21-16, 21-14 in their mixed doubles opener. (With inputs from PTI).
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