India’s Lakshya Sen progressed to the men’s singles second round with a straight-game win over Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen at the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 badminton tournament here on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The eighth-seeded Indian, who received a big boost after winning the Hylo Open in Germany, beat Chi 21-19, 21-18 in a 68-minute-long clash.<\/p>\n
Kidambi Srikanth also moved into the round of 16 after bouncing back to beat Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke 18-21, 21-16, 24-22.<\/p>\n
After losing the first game 18-21, Srikanth found his rhythm to make an impressive comeback in the second, winning it 21-16. However, the third game went down to the wire, with Srikanth eventually winning 24-22 in an hour and eight minutes.<\/p>\n
However, India suffered defeats in the doubles matches.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, it was another close match as the two fought tooth and nail for supremacy.<\/p>\n
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 extended the gap to 15-11, but a relaxed Lakshya slowly worked his way back to 14-16 with a cross-court smash.<\/p>\n
The Indian frustrated Chi with his superior net game, creating openings and finishing with cross-court smashes. Soon, it was 16-16 as Lakshya unleashed a down-the-line smash.<\/p>\n
A defensive block from Lakshya went into the net after a precise smash from Chi, allowing the Taiwanese to open up a two-point lead again.<\/p>\n
Lakshya clawed his way back to 18-18 but faltered in the next rally during a parallel exchange.<\/p>\n
However, Chi erred with a net dribble, and Lakshya produced another cross-court smash to earn a game point before sealing it by winning another exciting rally.<\/p>\n
The second game too followed a similar pattern, with the two battling for every point before being tied at 8-8. However, Lakshya stepped up to ensure a three-point lead at the break.<\/p>\n
Chi got his act together to draw parity at 13-13, but Lakshya again surged ahead 15-13 with a cross-court smash. The Taiwanese shuttler kept snapping at Lakshya’s heels, levelling the score at 15-15 before taking the lead at the right time with a smash to go 17-16 ahead. However, Lakshya sprang into action quickly to establish control at 19-17.<\/p>\n
Lakshya let a shuttle land out to take two match points. He sealed the match when Chi botched his return, sending it into the net.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n