Lakshya Sen begins Kumamoto Masters campaign with straight-games victory

Lakshya Sen defeated Chinese Taipei's Chi Yu Jen 21-19, 21-18 to enter the men's singles second round of the Kumamoto Masters Japan. However, Indian doubles pairs Dhruv Rawat-K Maneesha and Hariharan Amsakarunan-Tanisha Crasto suffered first-round defeats

Kumamoto (Japan): India’s Lakshya Sen progressed to the men’s singles second round with a straight-games win over Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen in the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 badminton tournament here on Wednesday.

The eighth-seeded Indian, who received a big boost after winning the Hylo Open in Germany, beat Chi 21-19, 21-18 in a minute-long clash.

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However, India suffered defeats in the doubles matches.

India’s Dhruv Rawat and K. Maneesha went down 21-16, 14-21, 14-21 to fourth seeds Ye Hong Wei and Nicole Gonzales Chan of Chinese Taipei, while Hariharan Amsakarunan and Tanisha Crasto lost 7-21, 9-21 to top seeds Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin of China.

Lakshya, a 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, had suffered a loss against Chi at the Malaysia Open last year. He had returned the favour at the Australia Open the same year.

Wednesday’s encounter was another close match, with the two players fighting tooth and nail for supremacy.

World No. 13 Lakshya fell 4-7 behind in the opening game as Chi, ranked 24th, grabbed a slender 11-10 lead at the break. On resumption, the Taiwanese shuttler extended the gap to 15-11, but a composed Lakshya slowly worked his way back to 14-16 with a cross-court smash.

The Indian frustrated Chi with his superior net game, creating openings and finishing with cross-court smashes. Soon, the score was tied at 16-16 as Lakshya unleashed a down-the-line smash.

A defensive block from Lakshya went into the net after a precise smash from Chi, allowing the Taiwanese shuttler to open up a two-point lead again.

Lakshya clawed his way back to 18-18 but faltered in the next parallel exchange.

However, Chi erred with a net dribble, and Lakshya produced another cross-court smash to earn a game point. He then sealed the game by winning another exciting rally.

The second game also followed similar lines, with the two players battling for every point before being tied at 8-8. Lakshya then stepped up to ensure a three-point lead at the interval.

Chi got his act together to draw parity at 13-13, but Lakshya surged ahead again to make it 15-13 with a cross-court smash. The Taiwanese shuttler kept snapping at Lakshya’s heels, levelling the score at 15-15 and taking the lead at a crucial stage with a smash to go 17-16. However, Lakshya quickly regained control to move ahead 19-17.

Lakshya let a shuttle land out to take two match points. He sealed the victory when Chi botched his return, sending the shuttle into the net.