Shenzhen: Lakshya Sen was knocked out of the China Masters after a listless performance in the opening round but Kidambi Srikanth and Tanvi Sharma registered straight-game wins to progress to the second round of men’s and women’s singles competition here on Wednesday.
Lakshya, a 2021 world championships bronze-medallist, played an error-riddled game to go down 14-21 7-21 in 38 minutes to world No. 9 Canada’s Victor Lai, who won his second bronze medal at the World Championships last month.
It was Lakshya’s third defeat to the Canadian with his only win being at the All England Championships in March this year.
On Wednesday, he struggled to find a way past Lai’s resolute defence and gradually lost patience, repeatedly making errors on the Canadian’s backhand sideline. Lakshya was up 4-0 early in the opening game but Lai soon took control and never allowed Lakshya to settle into a rhythm, closing it out the game comfortably. After the change of sides, the Indian’s frustration grew as Lai continued to soak up pressure and force errors. Lakshya trailed 4-11 and could not mount a comeback, with the Canadian wrapping up the match without much ado.
Indian Shuttlers Advance In China Masters
Srikanth, a 2021 world championships silver-medallist, however, progressed after beating Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen 21-16 21-15 in another men’s singles opener. The former World No. 1 Indian, who reached the US Open final this year, will face Lai next.
Tanvi, who won her maiden BWF World Tour title at the Taipei Open last month, defeated Denmark’s Amalie Schulz 21-16 21-17 to also advance to the women’s singles second round. The 17-year-old from Punjab, a bronze medallist at the Junior World Championships in Guwahati last year, will face Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki next.
Mixed Results For Indian Doubles Pairs
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, a two-time world championships bronze winner, also moved to the next round with a 21-11 21-16 win over Malaysia’s Junaidi Arif and Kang Khai Xing. The Asian Games gold medallist pair will next take on the Popov brothers — Christo and Toma Junior — of France.
India’s mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto too entered the next round after defeating Thailand’s Tonnakorn Saeheng and Tonnicha Saeheng 21-8 21-9. The duo will meet Chinese Taipei’s Liu Kuang Heng and Hsu Yin-Hui next.
However, Devika Sihag went down 18-21 15-21 to Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova to end her campaign. Mixed doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde also couldn’t cross the opening hurdle, losing 16-21 18-21 to Chinese Taipei’s Wu Guan Xun and Lee Chia Hsin. It has been a difficult few weeks for Lakshya, who made an unceremonious early exit from the World Championships at home.
