Japan Open: Lakshya Sen enters semifinals; Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty pair bows out
First Published: 28th July, 2023 14:17 IST
The 2022 Commonwealth Champion Lakshya registered a straight-set 21-15 21-19 victory over Watanabe to make his third successive semifinals, following his exploits in Canada and the United States
India’s star shuttler Lakshya Sen extended his excellent run on Thursday, defeating local hope Koki Watanabe in straight games to enter the semifinals of the Japan Open Super 750 badminton competition in Tokyo.
The 2022 Commonwealth Champion Lakshya registered a straight-set 21-15 21-19 victory over Watanabe to make his third successive semifinals, following his exploits in Canada and the United States.
Sen, who won the Canada Open Super 500 earlier this month, jumped out to a 5-3 lead early on before closing to 11-7 at the break. The Indian had little trouble manoeuvring the Japanese and quickly sealed the opening game with two cross-court returns on both sides of the court.
Watanabe tried to infuse some energy into the rallies after switching sides, but Sen looked in command and moved to 3-2 with a stunning cross court drop. A 42-shot rally finished with Sen’s backhand falling into the net, giving Watanabe a 5-3 lead.
Sen, who trailed 7-14, staged a comeback, pulling his opponent to the net and making good use of drop shots. With a cross-court smash, he quickly turned the tables at 18-17. Sen secured one match point with two returns on his opponent’s backhand before producing another crisp return at the backhand line to clinch the match against his Japanese opponent.
Meanwhile, the Indian in-form men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty failed to bring their ‘A’ game into the match, falling 15-21 25-23 16-21 to Olympic winners Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lan of Chinese Taipei.
Indian eighth seed HS Prannoy will be in action later in the day against World and Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen. (ANI)
Also Read: Jasprit Bumrah fully fit, might play series against Ireland: BCCI secretary Jay Shah
COMMENTS
TOPMOST STORY NOW
Live Arunachal: Vehicle movement restricted on Pinjoli bridge in West Kamreng
18th May 2024Live Meghalaya govt to relocate 200 vendors from Police Bazar, here is what they have to say
17th May 2024Live Rs 69 cr Sikkim State Bank fraud: FIR against GM, 2 others
17th May 2024Live Tripura is to be first NE state to implement CAA
17th May 2024WE RECOMMEND
Neeraj Chopra set to compete in Ostrava Golden Spike athletics meet on May 28
This upcoming meet, which is also a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold label event, is the 63rd edition of the Ostrava Golden Spike competition.
17th May 2024Virat Kohli’s heartfelt tribute to football legend Sunil Chhetri goes viral
Cricketer Virat Kohli dropped a heartfelt comment for football legend Sunil Chetri after he announced his decision to hang up his boots today, bringing the curtains down on a close to two decades long highly successful football career. https://www.instagram.com/p/C7A-iU2SjiZ/ Kohli enjoys a great friendship with Chhetri. Taking to social media Virat commented on Chhetri’s video […]
16th May 2024Neeraj Chopra to compete in national events first time since Tokyo Olympics
All nine javelin throwers who previously touched the 75m mark in their career will get the privilege of competing directly in the final.
15th May 2024IPL: Even rain cannot dampen SRK’s love for KKR, meets Gambhir and Co in Ahmedabad
After the match was called off, both the teams KKR and GT remained at their previous positions at which they were before today.
14th May 2024Guwahati to host 2 IPL matches on May 15 and 19, where to buy tickets, where to watch live, details here
Ticket prices range between Rs 1,000 to 17,300. Students can buy tickets at Rs 500 from the Box Office.
13th May 2024