Young Indian shuttlers Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda put up spirited performances before bowing out, while Lakshya Sen suffered a straight-game defeat as India endured a disappointing second day at the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Ayush, who had reached the final of the Asia Championships, displayed tremendous fighting spirit after losing the opening game but was eventually unable to sustain the momentum, going down 19-21 25-23 15-21 to second seed and former world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in an 82-minute battle.
World No. 24 Unnati, a two-time Odisha Open Super 100 champion, once again failed to get past Huang Yu-Hsun. The Indian lost 21-16 16-21 15-21 to the Chinese Taipei shuttler, suffering her second defeat in as many meetings against her.
Lakshya, a former All England Championships runner-up, struggled against local favourite Koki Watanabe and went down 16-21 14-21 in just 38 minutes. The victory helped the Japanese improve his head-to-head record against the Indian to 4-3.
It was a disappointing outing for India as all three shuttlers in action failed to advance beyond the opening round. The early exits come as a setback for the country ahead of the World Championships, which India will host in New Delhi next month after a gap of 17 years.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and the mixed doubles combination of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto now remain India's only hopes in the USD 950,000 event. Sindhu will take on fifth seed Han Yue of China, while Dhruv and Tanisha will face top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping in the second round on Thursday.
Ayush, the 21-year-old from Mangaluru, entered his contest against Kunlavut with confidence after his sensational victory over the Thai en route to the Asia Championships final. However, he was aware that overcoming the three-time world junior champion on his home turf would be a difficult challenge.
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The Indian made an encouraging start and opened up a 7-4 lead early in the opening game. Kunlavut, however, quickly turned the contest around, moving ahead 12-9 with a strong run of points.
Ayush responded impressively to regain the lead at 13-12, but the Thai shuttler again seized control and moved to 19-16. Three consecutive points from Ayush brought him level and raised hopes of a comeback. Kunlavut, though, held his nerve and claimed the next two points to take the opening game.
After the change of ends, Kunlavut continued to enjoy the upper hand, but Ayush remained close and managed to take a narrow 11-10 lead at the interval. The Thai then appeared to be closing in on victory after earning four match points.
Ayush, however, produced a remarkable display of composure and determination, saving all four match points in a tense sequence. He eventually won a nervy exchange and converted his second game point to force a decider.
The Indian's resurgence proved short-lived. Kunlavut came out aggressively in the final game, racing to an 8-5 lead before extending his advantage to 14-8. From there, the Thai shuttler maintained control and closed out the contest comfortably to end Ayush's impressive challenge.
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