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Lakshya Sen turned out to be a star for India on the opening day of the Indonesian Masters BWF World Tour Super 750 badminton tournament in Bali on Tuesday.
20-year-old Lakshya stunned world No. 10 Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan in the men’s singles first round to start his campaign on a rousing note.
An outstanding victory by Lakshya Sen earlier in the day seemed to have inspired the other Indians in the fray. PV Sindhu and women’s doubles pair Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy also posted brilliant wins to enter the second round.
However, sixth-seeded Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were upset by Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi of Malaysia 17-21, 15-21 in 40 minutes.
Lakshya edges past Japanese Tsuneyama in marathon battle
Lakshya’s sensational victory over higher-ranked Kanta Tsuneyama was certainly the highlight of the opening day’s proceedings.
World No. 19 Lakshya displayed tremendous determination on way to a fabulous 21-17, 18-21, 21-17 win over Tsuneyama in an hour and 8 minutes.
In a well-contested outing, Lakshya started in an impressive manner by winning the first game. The Almora youngster was on course to record a straight-game win with a quality display in the second game too.
However, the Japanese raised his level of play at the crucial juncture to force the decider. Lakshya, who had reached the semi-finals at the Hylo Open and final of the Dutch Open earlier in the season, gave his best in the third game.
In-form Lakshya’s powerful smashes and solid defense helped him oust the Japanese in the first round.
Lakshya will have to face another Japanese star in the next round on Thursday. The Indian shuttler will now take on top seed and two-time world champion Kento Momota for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Sindhu defeats southpaw Supanida Katethong of Thailand
Third-seeded Sindhu overcame a late challenge to down Thailand’s Supanida Katethong in the women’s singles first round.
Reigning world champion Sindhu notched up a hard-fought 21-15, 21-19 victory over the left-handed Thai in a 43-minute battle.
Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Sindhu was in control in the first game. World No. 7 Sindhu was well placed at 11-5 at the break and maintained her lead till the end.
Sindhu was stretched in the second game by Supanida. The 26-year-old Indian badminton queen opened up an 11-8 lead at the break but the Thai player did not give up.
At 20-18, Sindhu had two match points. Supanida saved one before Sindhu sealed the affair to move up.
Sindhu will now square off against Spain’s Clara Azurmendi in the second round.
Surprise defeat for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in the first round
Sixth seeded Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were knocked out in the first round.
Unseeded Malaysian combination Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi upset the ace Indian doubles pair in straight games. Satwiksairaj and Chirag tried hard but lost to the aggressive Malaysian duo 17-21, 15-21 in 40 minutes.
Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy post thrilling victory over Dane pair
Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy rallied back to oust Alexandra Boje and Mette Poulsen of Denmark in the women’s doubles first round.
Experienced Indian pair Ashwini and Sikky registered a superb 9-21, 21-11, 21-18 win. The match lasted 59 minutes.
Indian Results (Round 1)
Men’s singles
Lakshya Sen bt Kanta Tsuneyama (Japan) 21-17, 18-21, 21-17 (68 minutes)
Women’s singles
3-PV Sindhu bt Supanida Katethong (Thailand) 21-15, 21-19 (43 minutes)
Men’s doubles
6-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty lost to Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (Malaysia) 17-21, 15-21 (40 minutes)
Women’s doubles
Ashwini Ponnappa-N Sikki Reddy bt Alexandra Boje-Mette Poulsen (Denmark) 9-21, 21-11, 21-18 (59 minutes)
Indian players in action on Wednesday (Round 1)
Men's singles
B Sai Praneeth vs Shesar Hiren Rhustavito (Indonesia)
Kidambi Srikanth vs Christo Popov (France)
Parupalli Kashyap vs Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus (Denmark)
HS Prannoy vs Liew Daren (Malaysia)
Men's doubles
MR Arjun-Dhruv Kapila vs Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi (Japan)
Mixed doubles
Dhruv Kapila-N Sikki Reddy vs 2-Praveen Jordan-Melati Daeva Oktavianti (Indonesia)
B Sumeeth Reddy-Ashwini Ponnappa vs 6-Hafiz Faizal-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (Indonesia)
Venkat Gaurav Prasad-Juhi Dewangan vs Chang Tak Ching-Ng Wing Yung (Hong Kong China).
