Kumamoto Masters Japan 2024: Sindhu advances; Lakshya ousted in first round

Kumamoto (Japan), Nov13 P.V. Sindhu won her first-round clash while Lakshya Sen crashed out of the men's singles draw as India had a mixed day in the Kumamoto Masters Japan 2024, the BWF World Tour Super 500 series badminton event here on Wednesday.

Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu, who is hoping to make up for a disappointing season by winning the women's singles title in this event, defeated eighth seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand 21-12, 21-8 in 52 minutes on Court 1 at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.

Lakshya Sen, the Paris Olympic Games semifinalist, ran into Malaysia's Leong Jun Hao and crashed out in three games, losing 22-20, 17-21, 16-21 in a 74-minute battle of attrition.

India's top women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost in the first round on Tuesday.

Seeking to win her first title since the Singapore Open in 2022 and end a 24-month drought, Sindhu did not have a good start as Ongbamrungphan opened up a 5-1 lead. But the Indian shuttler, ranked 20th in BWF Rankings, fought back her way into the game and was leading 11-10 at the break.

The 29-year-old Sindhu took total control of the game after that as she won seven points in succession to win the first game. She continued at the same tempo in the second game and took a 4-0 lead before the Thai girl won her first point.

Ongbamrungphan tried to fight back in the second game but Sindhu was in a good rhythm and in dominant form as she won 11 of the last 12 points to breeze to victory and set up a second-round clash with Michelle Li of Canada in the second round in the draw of 32 players. Michelle Li beat Japan's Natsuki Nidaira in straight games in her opening-round match.

On Court 4 at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Sen started on a positive note against Leong Jun Hao, coming back from a 13-16 deficit to win the opening game 22-20. However, he could not maintain the same composure in the next two games, going down in both despite putting up a fighting display.

He fought back from 1-4 down in the second game to level scores at 6-6 but the Malaysian shuttler opened up a 11-7 gap. In a quick exchange in which Sen had the lead, Leong took control from 14-14 and won the next four-point lead, and went on to win the game 21-17.

Sen held a slight advantage in the decider but the Malaysian shuttler kept snapping at his heels and finally won the final five points from 17-16 to win the third game and the match to end another tournament on a disappointing note.