Former champion Lakshya Sen produced a composed and tactical performance to progress to the quarterfinals of the USD 950,000 India Open Super 750 badminton tournament, but Kidambi Srikanth and H S Prannoy bowed out after a spirited show here on Thursday.
The top men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, one of the favourites to win the title, also exited after a heart-breaking 27-25 21-23 19-21 loss to Japan's Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita in the second round later in the day.
Sen, a 2021 world championships bronze medallist, showed resilience and maturity to overcome Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 21-19, 21-11 in the second round to emerge as the only Indian challenge in singles at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.
"At the start of the opening game, I was struggling with my rhythm a bit and was lifting short and that allowed him to attack more. But then I started lifting the shuttle longer and focused on defending well, and I think that turned the first game," Lakshya told reporters. "In the second game, I knew I could not give him the opportunity to keep playing his game, so mixed my speed and it worked." The 24-year-old from Almora will next face Chinese Taipei's Lin Chun-Yi, who defeated Ireland's Nhat Nguyen 21-16, 21-17.
Earlier, Srikanth fought hard, but went down 21-14, 17-21, 21-17 to France's Christo Popov, the reigning World Tour Finals champion. Prannoy also pushed his opponent close before losing 18-21, 21-19, 21-14 to eighth seed Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.
Malvika Bansod also went down 18-21 15-21 to China's fifth seed Han Yue in a women's singles match. India's challenge in women's doubles also ended when Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost 22-20 22-24 21-23 against seventh seeds Li Yijing and Luo Xumin of China in a marathon match that lasted 84 minutes.
Sen struggled initially with timing and depth, allowing Nishimoto to seize control and open up a 16-11 lead at the mid-game interval. Down 14-18, Sen showed great composure as he extended the rallies, retrieving fiercely and forced errors from his opponent. A run of five consecutive points swung the momentum decisively, enabling Sen to close out the game at the first opportunity.
The second game was a one-sided affair as Sen raised his intensity. He mixed pace intelligently, alternated between sharp half-smashes and disguised drops, and denied Nishimoto any rhythm. With his defence holding firm and his shot selection precise, Sen sealed the contest in 50 minutes.
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