Japan Open: Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, Unnati Hooda Exit On 2nd Day
Japan Open: Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, Unnati Hooda Exit On 2nd Day Published By, Last Updated: July 15, 2026, 16:10 IST It was a forgettable
Japan Open: Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, Unnati Hooda Exit On 2nd Day Published By, Last Updated: July 15, 2026, 16:10 IST It was a forgettable day for India at Japan Open as Ayush Shetty, Unnati Hooda, and Lakshya Sen bowed out from the competition. Lakshy Sen lost in 38 minutes. (PTI Photo) India’s campaign suffered a setback on the second day of the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament as Ayush Shetty, Unnati Hooda and Lakshya Sen all crashed out in the opening round in Tokyo on Wednesday. Ayush, the Asia Championships finalist, produced a spirited performance against second seed and former world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn before losing 19-21, 25-23, 15-21 in an 82-minute men’s singles contest. World No. 24 Unnati Hooda also exited after going down 21-16, 16-21, 15-21 to Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu-Hsun. The defeat was her second in as many meetings against the same opponent. Lakshya, the All England Championships runner-up, was beaten 16-21, 14-21 by Japan’s Koki Watanabe in a one-sided 38-minute encounter. The victory helped Watanabe extend his head-to-head record against the Indian to 4-3.
The three first-round defeats capped a disappointing day for India with the country set to host the World Championships in New Delhi next month for the first time in 17 years, this Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto are now India’s only remaining representatives in the USD 950,000 tournament. Sindhu will face fifth seed Han Yue of China in the second round, while Dhruv and Tanisha are scheduled to meet top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping on Thursday. Ayush, the 21-year-old from Mangaluru, entered the contest with confidence after defeating Kunlavut during his run to the Asia Championships final earlier this year. However, he faced a far tougher challenge against the Thai, a three-time world junior champion. The Indian started brightly, opening up a 7-4 lead, but Kunlavut quickly turned the tables to move ahead 12-9. Ayush fought back to narrow the gap to 13-12 before the Thai stretched his advantage to 19-16. Although Ayush claimed three consecutive points to stay alive, Kunlavut held his nerve to take the opening game.
The second game followed a similar pattern, with Kunlavut maintaining control early before Ayush edged ahead 11-10 at the mid-game interval. The Thai later earned four match points, but Ayush mounted a remarkable comeback by saving all four. He then prevailed in a tense exchange and converted his second game point to force a decider. Ayush, however, was unable to sustain the momentum in the final game. Kunlavut raced to an 8-5 lead, widened the gap to 14-8 and comfortably closed out the match to advance to the next round. With PTI Inputs News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit Key Questions Answered Could PV Sindhu win the Japan Open after these early exits? PV Sindhu remains India's hope in the Japan Open after other Indian players exited. Sindhu won her opening-round match against Wong Ling Ching. She is scheduled to face China's Han Yue in the second round. Who are the top contenders remaining in the Japan Open?
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