Badminton - Japan Open: PV Sindhu bows out in 1st-round, Lakshya Sen enters pre-quarters

PV Sindhu's poor run continued as the double Olympic medalist crashed out of the first round of the ongoing Japan Open on Wednesday (July 26). Sindhu, who also faced a first-round exit in the Korea Open, suffered a 12-21, 13-21 loss toChina’s Zhang Yi Manin the Super 750 tournament.

Sindhu was nowhere in control of the game. She made mistakes at regular intervals and always gave the upper hand to Zhang. The 17th-ranked failed to finish points, which has been a cause of concern for hereven against lower-ranked opponents. The poor form of India's star shuttler is definitely a huge worry for her new coach, Malaysia's Muhammad Hafiz Hashim in theOlympic qualification cycle.

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BARRING SINDHU, INDIAN CONTINGENT SHINES

Meanwhile, there was still plenty to cheer for the Indian contingent with the likes of Lakshya Sen andChirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy moving forward. Talking about the 21-year-old Lakshya, he was made to work hard for his win against compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat.Priyanshu is already making heads turn in the ongoing season and gave a tough fight to Lakshya before losing 15-21, 21-12, 22-24.

On the other hand, Satwiksairajand Chirag, who attained their career-best No. 2 spot in BWF rankings after Korea Open triumph, were also made to sweat hard for a victory. They went past the opening round beating Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin 21-16, 11-21, 21-13. With form and momentum by their side, the Indian pair will look to go the distance in the tournament in Japan.

Earlier, the likes of Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy and Gayatri Gopichand-Jolly Treesa emerged on top inthe opening-round games. Prannoy is set totake on Srikanth in the second round which promises to be a blockbuster clash which, however, will send one packing.

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