Japan Open 2023: Satwik-Chirag, Lakshya Sen into second round; PV Sindhu crashes out in first round again

The third-seeded recent Korea Open doubles champions Satwik-Chirag defeated the unseeded Indonesian duo 21-16, 11-21, 21-13 in the first round match that lasted for 56 minutes on court 1 at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium.

The Asian Champion Indian shuttlers will next face Jeppe Bay and Lasse Molhede of Denmark in the second round on Thursday (July 27). The Indians have had the better of Danish pair in both of their previous attempts.

Elsewhere in men’s singles, Lakhsya Sen overcame compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat in three games to reach the second round. The recent Canada Open champion defeated the fellow Indian shuttler 21-11, 12-21, 24-22 in a tightly contested opening round match that lasted for an hour and 5 minutes.

The 21-year-old Sen will next face Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama in the second round on Thursday (July 27). The Indian has won the only previous meeting against his Japanese opponent so far.

Meanwhile, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu’s decline continued as she suffered a second successive first round defeat on the 2023 BWF World Tour.

Sindhu, who made an early exit during last week’s Korea Open 2023, was met with another disappointment following a straight games loss in Japan Open 2023 first round.

The Commonwealth Games champion, who has struggled since her return from injury, lost to Zhang Yiman of China 21-12, 21-13 in the opening round women’s singles match that lasted for just 32 minutes on Wednesday (July 26).

Also, Mithun Manjunath bowed out from the men’s singles event, but the 2022 Orlean Masters runner up went down fighting to China’s Weng Hong Yang 21-13, 22-24, 18-21 in the first round match that lasted for an hour and 25 minutes.

In the other women’s singles match, Malvika Bansod produced a listless performance against Japan’s Ayo Ohori, losing by straight games 7-21, 15-21 in just 35 minutes, while men’s doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and MR Arjun were forced to retire in their opener against Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.

Earlier on Tuesday (July 25), Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy set up a pre-quarterfinals meeting in the men’s singles competition, but it was curtains for Aakarshi Kashyap, who ran into Akane Yamaguchi in her very first outing.

Japan Open 2023: Indian Shuttlers Schedule, Results, Telecast & Live Streaming Info

The Indians eased though the first round as Srikanth brushed aside Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan 21-13, 21-13, while compatriot Prannoy too easily defeated Li Shifeng of China 21-17, 21-13 to enter the Round of 16. In the women’s singles, Aakarshi lost to Yamaguchi of Japan 17-21, 17-21.

Meanwhile, there was mixed results in doubles. In women’s doubles, the pair of Treesa Jolly and Pullela Gayatri Gopichand progressed, while mixed doubles pair Rohan Kapoor and Sikki Reddy crashed out.

Jolly-Gopichand pair engaged in a battle against the Japanese duo of Sayaka Hobara and Suizu. Despite losing the opening game, the Indians prevailed 11-21, 21-15, 21-14 to enter the pre-quarters, while Kapoor-Reddy pair lost to Taiwanese duo of Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin 21-18, 9-21, 18-21.