The second day of the Daihatsu Yonex Japan Open kicked off today at the Maruzen Intec Arena in Osaka, Japan. Our Indian shuttlers were in action today as they were looking to make it to the second round of the tournament.
The first match up on court 1 featured Commonwealth champion Lakshya Sen, who was looking to make amends for his early exit from the World Championships. He was up against Kenta Nishimoto of Japan. The two put up an entertaining show that lasted 66 minutes. The first game was won by Lakshya Sen 21-18. But the home favorite started to comeback after dropping the first game. Sen was outmuscled by the Japanese in the next two games as Nishimoto won them 21-14 21-13 to take the match in three enticing games. Bad fortune for Lakshya as he bows out of the Japan Open in the first round. A disappointing run continues for the Indian youngster after delight at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Court 2 was the venue for the next match featuring Indians as in the mixed doubles, it was the pairing of Venkat Gaurav Prasad and Juhi Dewagan taking on the number one seeds Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong. The Chinese pair had just won the world championship the previous week. They again showed why there were the best in the world as they outclassed the Indians in straight games to win 21-11 21-10.
Court 1 again as Akane Yamaguchi, fresh from defending her world championship title, faced off against Saina Nehwal. It took only 30 minutes for the Japanese star to defeat Saina in straight games as she won with a score of 21-9 21-17. Another tournament to forget for the Indian veteran as she looks to comeback stronger.
The first match on court 3 featured M R Arjun/Dhruv Kapila, who made the quarter-finals of the World Championships last week. They were up against the Korean pair of Choi Sol Gyu and Kim Won Ho. It was a tight match that saw the two pairs play for 65 minutes. The Koreans eventually prevailed in three games by winning with a score of 19-21 23-21 21-15.
Court 3 also had Commonwealth bronze medalist Kidambi Srikanth facing Lee Zii Jia, the fifth seed from Malaysia. Both players had a rather forgetful World Championships, as they lost early in the tournament. The match was intensely competitive between the two. Kidambi found the slight edge in the first game as he won it 22-20. The second game was even tighter as they needed extra points again to decide a winner. Srikanth held on to win it 23-21. He makes it through successfully to the second round.
Court 4 saw Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand taking on the seventh seeds from Thailand, Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai. The Thai pair were clinical to win the match in straight games despite a good showing from the Indian pair. The Thai pair won with a score of 21-17 21-18.
The last match on court 4 saw men’s doubles action as Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala took on the French brothers Christo Popov and Toma Junior Popov. The French pair won with a score of 21-18 21-17. That ended the Indian challenge in the men’s doubles draw.
The action continues from Osaka tomorrow as the second round is all set to take place. Kidambi Srikanth will face Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan. HS Prannoy who was victorious yesterday over Ng Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong, who had to retire from the match, will face 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.
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