Japan Open 2022 badminton: Kidambi Srikanth wins; Lakshya Sen, Saina Nehwal make early exit
Kidambi Srikanth beat Lee Zii Jia in straight games. Lakshya Sen lost to Kenta Nishimoto while Saina Nehwal was beaten by Akane Yamaguchi.
Indian badminton player Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the men’s singles round of 16 while both Lakshya Sen and Saina Nehwal bowed out of the Japan Open 2022 badminton tournament on Wednesday.
Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth outplayed Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia, an All England champion and fifth seed at the BWF Super 750 event, 22-20, 23-21 in a thrilling encounter.
“It was a close match and could have gone either way but I am happy with the way I played. It’s important to close out games at this high level because every match is going to be tough,” Kidambi Srikanth said after his victory.
“I was leading 16-12 in the first game but found myself behind 20-18 after giving away too many points. I just told myself to be consistent and not give easy points. I am always happy to win and now I will go back and think about how to beat my next opponent,” he added.
The CWG 2022 bronze-medallist will next face either Wang Tzu Wei or Kanta Tsuneyama in the next round.
Young Lakshya Sen, meanwhile, bowed out of the Japan Open after losing to home favourite Kenta Nishimoto 21-18, 14-21, 13-21 despite winning the first game. Lakshya Sen’s game tapered off after the mid-game break in the second game as he often went wide with his returns.
Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal was also knocked out after falling to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi, new world champion and top seed, 21-9, 21-17.
The pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila, who became the first Indian men’s doubles pair to make the world championship quarter-finals last week, were eliminated after a 21-19, 21-23, 15-21 loss to South Korea’s Choi Soi Gyu and Kim Won Ho.
CWG bronze medal winners Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost 21-17, 21-18 to Thai seventh seeds Jongkolphan Kitittharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai.
Indian results on Day 2 of Japan Open 2022
Men’s singles
Kidambi Srikanth bt. Lee Zii Jia 22-20, 23-21
Lakshya Sen lost to Kenta Nishimoto 21-18, 14-21, 13-21
Women’s singles
Saina Nehwal lost to Akane Yamaguchi 21-9, 21-17
Men’s doubles
MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila lost to Choi Soi Gyu/Kim Won Ho 21-19, 21-23, 15-21
Krishna Prasad Garaga/Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjula lost to Christo Popov/Toma Junior Popov 21-18, 21-17
Women’s doubles
Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand lost to Jongkolphan Kitittharakul/Rawinda Prajongjai 21-17, 21-18
Mixed doubles
Venkat Prasad/Juhi Dewangan lost to Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong 21-11, 21-10