Ayush, Unnati, Lakshya bow out in dismal day for India at Japan Open
Young shuttlers Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda put up gallant fights before bowing out, while Lakshya Sen went down in straight games as India endured a disappointing second day at the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament here on Wednesday.
Ayush, a finalist at the Asia Championships, showed grit to recover after losing the opening game but ran out of steam in the end, going down 19-21, 25-23, 15-21 to second seed and former world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in an 82-minute clash. World No. 24 Unnati, a two-time Odisha Open Super 100 champion, once again lost to Huang Yu-Hsun, going down 21-16 16-21 15-21 to the Chinese Taipei shuttler for her second defeat in as many meetings.
Lakshya, a runner-up at the All England Championships, was no match for local favourite Koki Watanabe, losing 16-21, 14-21 in just 38 minutes as the Japanese improved his head-to-head record against the Indian to 4-3. It was a disappointing day for India as all three shuttlers in action failed to cross the opening hurdle. The first-round exits do not reflect well on India, which is set to host the World Championships in New Delhi next month after a gap of 17 years.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto remain India’s only hopes in the $950,000 tournament. While Sindhu will face fifth seed Han Yue of China, Dhruv and Tanisha will take on top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping in the second round on Thursday.
Ayush vs Kunlavut: Ayush, the 21-year-old from Mangaluru, came into the match after his sensational win over Kunlavut en route to the Asia Championships final, but knew it would not be a cakewalk against the Thai, a three-time world junior champion. The Indian made a decent start, opening up a 7-4 lead early on, but it disappeared in no time as Kunlavut surged ahead to 12-9. Ayush fought back to make it 13-12, but the Thai again moved ahead at 19-16. Three straight points gave Ayush hope, but Kunlavut sealed the opening game by winning the next two points.
After the change of ends, Kunlavut continued to hold the upper hand, but Ayush stayed in touch and managed to take a slender 11-10 lead at the interval.
The Thai, however, regained control and earned four match points, with the writing seemingly on the wall. But Ayush showed tremendous resolve, saving all four match points before prevailing in a tense exchange and converting his second game point.
The resurgence, however, proved short-lived as Kunlavut came back strongly in the decider, racing to an 8-5 lead and then extending it to 14-8 before sealing the contest comfortably.
