Japan Open: Lakshya Sen Eases Into Round Of 16, PV Sindhu Suffers Another Heartbreak
Lakshya Sen got the better of his fellow national player Priyanshu Rajawat in a competitive three-game affair.
Indian young shuttler Lakshya Sen sealed his place in the Round of 16 of Japan Open 2023 on Wednesday, while PV Sindhu crashed out after losing 21-12 and 21-13 to China's Zhang Yiman in a round-of-32 clash. The Commonwealth gold medallist, Sen, got the better of his fellow national player Priyanshu Rajawat in a competitive three-game affair. Sen emerged victorious as he went on to win a thrilling contest by  21-15, 12-21, 24-22 scoreline. Sen's pre-quarterfinal opponent will be Japan's Kanta Tsuneyama, who defeated Indonesian world No. 2 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the opening round to create an upset early in the tournament.
Sen suffered a dissapointment earlier in the month after he bowed out of the competition in the semi-finals. The Commonwealth Games champion lost to the world number seven and All-England Champion Li Shifeng by 17-21, 24-22, 17-21 in a hard-fought match that lasted an hour and 16 minutes.Â
He will be looking to make a strong comeback in the Japan Open.Â
On the other hand, Mithun Manjunath, conceded a lead to lose 21-13, 22-24, 18-21 to China's Weng Hong Yang in the opening round of men's singles.
In the men's doubles category, the Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty found it hard to make their place in the next round. The Indian men's doubles ace, clinched their career-best world number 2 rank recently, had to battle for three games against Indonesia's Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin. They managed to clinch the victory by 21-16, 11-21, 21-13.Â
Results at Japan Open will be considered in the player's qualifying rankings for the multi-sport event at Paris next year.
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PV Sindhu