PV Sindhu Faces Early Exit at Japan Open, Lakshya Sen Advances

Sindhu's Struggles Continue

PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, faced another disappointing first-round exit at the Japan Open on Wednesday. The former world champion lost to Korea's Sim Yu Jin with scores of 15-21, 14-21, marking her fifth early exit this year.

Despite showing some resilience in the first game, Sindhu struggled with her performance, appearing rusty and making several errors. After a slow start, she managed to tie the score at 11-11 in the second game, but ultimately, Sim pulled ahead to secure her first victory over the Indian player.

Successful Matches for Indian Players

In contrast, Lakshya Sen and the men's doubles team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the second round with impressive wins. Satwik and Chirag, currently ranked 15th globally, defeated the Korean pair of Kang Min Hyuk and Kim Dong Ju in straight games, 21-18, 21-10, in just 42 minutes.

After a shaky start, the Indian duo found their rhythm and dominated the second game with remarkable precision. Meanwhile, Lakshya, who has faced challenges this season, displayed a strong performance against China's Wang Zheng Xing, winning 21-11, 21-18. He will next compete against seventh seed and local favorite Kodai Naraoka in the round of 16.