Lakshya Sen Exits Early at Indonesia Open; PV Sindhu Advances to Next Round

Indonesia Open: Mixed Fortunes for Indian Shuttlers

Jakarta, Indonesia - On June 2, Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen faced an early exit in the first round of the Indonesia Open, while two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu successfully advanced to the second round after a challenging match.

Lakshya, who holds the 10th position in the men's singles rankings, struggled against Indonesia's Alwi Farhan, ultimately losing 21-19, 21-16 in a match that lasted 48 minutes, as reported by Olympics.com.

The 24-year-old initially fell behind 7-3 in the first game but managed to rally back to 19-18 before Farhan secured the first game with three consecutive points. The second game was fiercely contested, with Farhan leading 17-16 before closing the match with four straight points.

This defeat marks Lakshya's second consecutive loss to Farhan, having previously lost to him in straight games during the semifinals of the Macau Open last year.

On the other hand, Sindhu, who recently returned to the top 10 in women's singles for the first time since October 2023, triumphed over Thailand's world No. 19 Busanan Ongbamrungphan with scores of 25-23, 21-16. This victory extends Sindhu's impressive record against Busanan to 21-1, although she faced a tough challenge in the first game before dominating the second.

Having reached the quarterfinals in the Singapore Open last week, where she notably defeated world number six Putri Kusuma Wardani, Sindhu is looking to continue her momentum. She may face the Paris Olympics 2024 bronze medalist An-Se-young in the second round, provided she overcomes Turkiye's unseeded Neslihan Arin in her opening match.

Former world number one Kidambi Srikanth also faced disappointment, losing in straight games to Japan's higher-ranked Yushi Tanaka with scores of 21-19, 21-15. This loss continues a disappointing trend for Kidambi, who has yet to progress past the second round in any BWF World Tour event this season.

In men's doubles, the Indian duo of Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun pulled off an upset against Malaysia's Tan Wee Kiong, a silver medalist from the Rio 2016 Olympics, and Mohammed Azriyn Ayub, winning 21-18, 21-10 to advance to the pre-quarterfinals.

Earlier in the day, Malvika Bansod was eliminated from the women's competition after a 21-12, 21-10 defeat to Thailand's seventh seed Pornpawee Chochuwong. Additionally, in women's doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also exited the tournament following a 21-12, 21-10 loss to their Thai opponents.

In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, who reached the semifinals in Singapore last week, were defeated by Malaysia's reigning world champions Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei with scores of 21-11, 21-10.