Tokyo: PV Sindhu endured yet another first-round exit but Lakshya Sen and the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty moved into the second round with comfortable victories at the Japan Open here on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Sindhu went down 15-21 14-21 to South Korea’s Sim Yu Jin in the Super 750 tournament, marking her fifth first-round exit this year.
Satwiksairaj-Chirag and Lakshya, on the other hand, registered dominant straight-game wins.
In the men’s doubles, Satwiksairaj and Chirag, currently ranked 15th in the world, defeated the Korean duo of Kang Min Hyuk and Kim Dong Ju 21-18 21-10 in just 42 minutes.
The former world No. 1 pair took some time to settle down, with the Koreans matching them early in the first game.
But once the Indians found their rhythm, they were unstoppable, dominating the second game with clinical precision.
Meanwhile, Lakshya who has struggled for form this season, making a string of first-round exits, looked sharp as he dispatched China’s Wang Zheng Xing 21-11 21-18.
In women’s singles, Anupama Upadhyaya prevailed 21-15 18-21 21-18 over Rakshitha Ramraj. Anupama will next face second seeded Chinese Wang Zhi Yi.