Japan open: Sindhu's woes pile up, Satwik-Chirag win

Tokyo, July 26

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Double Olympics medallist PV Sindhu made yet another first-round exit but Lakshya Sen staved off a spirited challenge from fellow Indian Priyanshu Rajawat to progress to the second round of the Japan Open Super 750 here today.

Newly-crowned Korea Open champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made a positive start to their campaign, extending their unbeaten run to 11 matches, following the wins in South Korea and Indonesia.

Enduring a tough phase in her career, Sindhu lost 12-21 13-21 to Zhang Yi Man of China in her opener that lasted 32 minutes. It was her seventh first-round exit in 13 BWF World Tour events this year.

Canada Open champion Sen, returning to action after skipping the South Korea event, survived a scare against compatriot Rajawat to prevail 21-15 12-21 24-22 in a 65-minute battle.

However, the in-form doubles pair of Satwiksairaj and Chirag had no such issues as the two beat the Indonesian duo of Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin 21-16 11-21 21-13 to move into the second round. The third-seeded pair will face Denmark’s Jeppe Bay and Lasse Molhede in the second round.