India falters at Japan Open: Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty crash out in first round

India’s campaign at the Japan Open Super 750, one of the key tune-up events ahead of next month’s World Championships, has gone from bad to worse. After Satwiksiraj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty withdrew midway through the men’s doubles first round match due to Satwika’s shoulder injuryIndia’s top singles stars Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty bowed out in the opening round on Wednesday 15 July.

Lakshya Sen lost to local hope Koki Watanabe in straight games in their first-round match on Court 1. The World No. 14 was no match for Watanabe, who controlled proceedings from both the front and back courts.

Lakshya kept pace with Watanabe in the opening match before the Japanese shuttler, who is 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 putting Lakshya on 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 final of the All England Open in March, he reached the quarter-finals of the Singapore Open in May before suffering a first-round exit at the Indonesia Open.

AYUSH IS LOSING A HARD FIGHT

Meanwhile, rising star Ayush Shetty lost a hard-fought first-round match 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 defeat in straight games but saved five match points to take the decider.

However, Ayush could not maintain the same intensity in the third and final game. Vitidsarn eventually won a grueling contest that lasted one hour and 22 minutes, 21-19, 23-25, 21-15.

There was also disappointment in the women’s singles as world No. 24 Unnati Hooda lost to the lower ranked Huang Yu-Hsun of Chinese Taipei 21-16, 16-21, 15-21.

On Tuesday, PV Sindhu, currently ranked world No. 10, created a composed performance record a 21-14, 21-11 victory over Malaysian world No. 37 Wong Ling Ching in the opening round of the BWF Super 750 event.

However, India’s Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto advanced to the second round after beating Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Julie Macpherson 21-16, 21-14 in their mixed doubles opener. (With inputs from PTI).

– The end

Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

15 Jul 2026 13:05 IST