Sindhu makes another first-round exit at Japan Open

TOKYO: Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu made yet another first-round exit but Lakshya Sen staved off a spirited challenge from fellow Indian Priyanshu Rajawat to progress to the second round of the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament here on Wednesday.

Newly-crowned Korea Open champion Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also made a positive start to their campaign, extending their unbeaten run to 11 matches, following the wins in Yeosu and Indonesia.

Enduring a tough phase of her career, Sindhu lost 12-21, 13-21 to Zhang Yi Man of China in her opener that lasted 32 minutes. It was her seventh first round exit in 13 BWF World Tour events this year.

Canada Open champion Sen, returning to action after skipping the Korea event, too showed better mental fortitude to survive a scare against compatriot Rajawat, prevailing 21-15, 12-21, 24-22 in a 65-minute battle. Sen will face Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan in the second round.

Sindhu, the 2019 world champion, has looked a pale shadow of her past self after her injury rehabilitation and has dropped to world No. 17 after a series of first round exits. She has been error-prone and struggling to finish points even against lower-ranked players.

Recently, Sindhu has come under the guidance of new coach Muhammad Hafiz Hashim, the 2003 All-England champion, and is hoping to change her fortunes for the better.

Sindhu had beaten world number 18 Zhang in the Malaysian Open quarterfinals in May this year but the Chinese avenged that defeat and also made the lifetime win-loss record to 3-2 against the Indian.

While Sindhu has been struggling, the in-form doubles pair of Satwik and Chirag had no such issues as the two beat the Indonesian duo of Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin 21-16, 11-21, 21-13 to move into the second round.

Seeded third in the tournament, Satwik and Chirag, who won the Korean Open title on Sunday, will face Denmark’s Jeppe Bay and Lasse Molhede in the second round.

But in another men’s singles first round match, Mithun Manjunath lost to Weng Hong Yang of China 21-13, 22-24, 18-21 in a hard-fought duel that could have gone either way. The match lasted one hour and 25 minutes.

Malvika Bansod too fell by the wayside, losing 14-21, 17-21 to Japan’s Aya Ohori to bow out.

Men’s doubles pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila once again retired midway while lagging 5-15 in the first game against fourth seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik due to an injury.

Arjun had pulled out in the first round of Korea Open as well due to a back spasm.

In a clash between two 21-year-old Indians, it was Sen who showed better nerves to prevail in a thrilling match that saw some exciting fast-paced rallies and thundering smashes.

Sen’s ability to produce precise returns deep in the forehand of his opponent saw him open up a 8-4 lead at one stage. A series of unforced errors, however, allowed Rajawat to keep things tight before his backhand went to the net as it was 11-7 advantage for Sen.

Sen struggled with his length and lost too many points sending the shuttle wide and long but Rajawat too wasn’t polished enough in his finishing as he lagged behind. A wide shot from Rajawat gave six game points to Sen, who converted in the second attempt.