Highlights
- Saina Nehwal lost to World No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi
- Nehwal went down in straight games
- Earlier, Lakshya Sen also lost his round of 32 match
Japan Open 2022: India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal made an early exit from the ongoing Japan open 750 tournament after losing her round of 32 match to World No.1 Akane Yamaguchi. She lost in straight games by 21-9, 21-17. Nehwal was far from her best in the first game but gave a strong fight in the second one.
Meanwhile, Japan's Yamaguchi was clinical as she kept a big lead in the first game before winning it by 21-9. Saina later made a comeback in the second game and led it by 11-6 before the break but a string of points saw the Indian shuttler being pushed on the back foot. Yamaguchi then led the second game by 15-12 and then won the contest by 21-17.
Before Saina, India's other star shuttler Lakshya Sen got knocked out in the round of 32 after facing defeat against Japan's Kenta Nishimoto in three games. Sen won the first game by 21-18 but lost the second one by 14-21 forcing the match into the decider. Nishimoto then took a big lead in the final game to close the contest by 21-18, 14-21, 13-21 in his favour.
Meanwhile, Kidambi Srikanth brought joy to the Indian camp after he stunned world no. 4 Lee Ziia in straight games by 22-20, 23-21. Srikanth held his nerves in both the games and has marched into the next round of the Japan Open.
Nehwal, who recently featured in the World Championships & reached the pre-quarters lost to Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan in three games. She had earlier defeated Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi in the round of 64 and qualified for the round of 16 as her round of 32 clash against Nozomi Okuhara got cancelled due to the latter's withdrawal.
