Badminton Japan Open: Lakshya Sen suffers a shocking first-round defeat

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lakshya Sen started strong and won the first game 21-18. However, Kenta Nishimoto bounced back and won the second game 14-21 to force the match into a decider.

Lakshya Sen tried to fight back in the third set, but Kenta Nishimoto raced to a 5-11 lead by the break. He failed to narrow the deficit, and the 28-year-old Japanese shuttler won the third set 13-21 to seal his victory.

Kenta Nishimoto will lock horns with Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in a second-round clash of the Japan Open 750 event on September 1.

In the other men’s singles matches, H. S. Prannoy and Kidambi Srikant also advanced to the second round after winning their respective matches.

Kidambi Srikant won against World No. 4 Lee Ziia of Malaysia with a straight set 22-20, 23-21 victory, while HS Prannoy advanced to the next round after NG Ka Long Angus was forced to retire from the match.

The Indian men’s doubles pairing of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila also suffered a first-round exit after Choi Sol Gyu and Kim Won Ho of China won the hard-fought three-set match.

The Indian duo won the first game 21-19, but the top seeds Choi Sol Gyu and Kim Won Ho won the close second game 21-23 before clinching the third set with a wide margin.

Top seeds Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong of China won against the Indian duo of Juhi Dewangan and Venkat Gaurav Prasad 11-21, 10-21 in a mixed doubles clash.

The disappointment continued for the Indian contingent in the women’s singles as veteran India shuttler Saina Nehwal was beaten in straight sets by Akane Yamaguchi of Japan.

HS Prannoy will continue the Indian campaign with a second-round clash against Loh Kean Yew of Singapore on September 1.