Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen was knocked out in the first round of the Indonesia Open on Tuesday, while two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu marched into the second round after a tricky clash. The tournament, held in Jakarta, saw mixed results for Indian shuttlers.
Lakshya Sen's Early Exit
Lakshya, ranked 10th in the men's singles competition, could not match the pace of a younger opponent, Indonesia's Alwi Farhan, losing 21-19, 21-16 in 48 minutes. The 24-year-old recovered from a 7-3 deficit in the first game and edged past the Indonesian 19-18 before the 21-year-old peeled off three straight points to take the opener. The second game was a closely fought battle, with Farhan leading at 17-16 and the Indonesian closing out the match with four straight points. This was Lakshya's second loss to Farhan in as many meetings, having met in the semifinals of the Macau Open last year, where Lakshya lost in straight games.
PV Sindhu's Dominant Display
Sindhu, who returned to the top 10 in the women's singles competition for the first time since October 2023 this week, defeated Thailand's world No. 19 Busanan Ongbamrungphan 25-23, 21-16 in straight games. With this win, Sindhu continues her dominant record over Busanan, improving it to 21-1, but was pushed hard in the opening game before largely dominating the second to win the match in 51 minutes. The Indian ace shuttler came to Jakarta after a fine quarterfinal run in the Singapore Open last week, where a standout performance included a win over world number six Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in the first round. However, with a loss to Paris Olympics 2024 bronze champion An Se-young, her campaign ended in the quarters. She could face the Olympic champion once again in the second round if she beats Turkiye's unseeded Neslihan Arin in her opener.
Kidambi Srikanth's Struggle Continues
Former world number one Kidambi Srikanth faced an opening round loss in straight games to higher-ranked Yushi Tanaka of Japan by 21-19, 21-15. Kidambi's poor run this year has continued, as he is yet to make past round two in any BWF World Tour tournament this season.
Indian Doubles Pair Shines
In the men's doubles competition, the Indian pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun shocked Malaysia's Tan Wee Kiong, Rio 2016 Olympics silver medalist, and Mohammed Azriyn Ayub in the opening round. The world number 30 duo outclassed their 24th-ranked opposition by 21-18, 21-10 to progress to the pre-quarterfinals.
Other Indian Results
Earlier in the day, in the women's competition, Malvika Bansod bowed out after a 21-12, 21-10 defeat to Thailand's seventh seed Pornpawee Chochuwong. In the women's doubles competition, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also bowed out after a 21-12, 21-10 defeat to Thai players. In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, who made it to the semifinals in Singapore last week, succumbed to Malaysia's reigning world champions Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei 21-11, 21-10.
