India's Men's Singles Players Exit Early at Japan Open 2026

India's men's singles challenge at the Japan Open 2026 concluded early with Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty both suffering first-round defeats. Lakshya lost to Japan's Koki Watanabe, while Ayush put up a strong fight against Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn but ultimately fell short. Unnati Hooda also faced elimination in the women's singles. However, PV Sindhu remains in the competition, along with the mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila, keeping India's hopes alive in the tournament.

By Narendra Chaudhary Jul 15, 2026, 16:23 IST

India's Men's Singles Challenge Concludes

The men's singles competition for India at the Japan Open 2026 ended prematurely as both Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty faced first-round defeats at the BWF Super 750 event held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Wednesday.

Lakshya Sen, currently ranked 14th in the world, was defeated by Japan's Koki Watanabe, with scores of 21-16, 21-14 in a match that lasted only 38 minutes. Throughout the match, Lakshya struggled to establish his rhythm, falling behind 11-6 and 11-5 at the mid-game breaks of both games before Watanabe secured a straightforward victory. This loss marked Lakshya's third defeat in seven encounters against the 17th-ranked Japanese player.

On the other hand, Ayush Shetty put up a commendable fight against Thailand's world No. 2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn but ultimately lost in a challenging three-game match. The scores were 19-21, 25-23, 15-21 in favor of the Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalist. The first game was tightly contested, with Kunlavut leading 11-9 at the interval before narrowly winning. Ayush bounced back in the second game, taking an 11-10 lead at the break and saving four match points to win 25-23, forcing a decisive game. However, he could not maintain his momentum in the third game, allowing Kunlavut to regain control and win, improving his head-to-head record against Ayush to 2-1.

Additional Setbacks for Indian Contingent

India faced another disappointment in the women's singles category as Unnati Hooda was eliminated in the first round, losing 16-21, 21-16, 21-15 to Huang Yu-Hsun from Chinese Taipei.

Sindhu and Doubles Pair Keep India's Hopes Alive

With the recent exits, India's men's singles campaign at the Japan Open has concluded. However, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu remains the sole representative for India in the women's singles after advancing to the second round on Tuesday. The mixed doubles team of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila also progressed to the second round, holding the nation's hopes in doubles.

Earlier, the men's doubles teams of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and MR Arjun-Hariharan Amsakarunan were eliminated in the opening round.