India’s Challenge Ends Early at Japan Open as Lakshya, Satwik-Chirag Crash Out

India’s campaign at the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament suffered a major blow on Thursday as top shuttler Lakshya Sen and the renowned men’s doubles team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bowed out in the second round.

World No. 18 Lakshya Sen fell to Japan’s Kodai Naraoka 19-21, 11-21 in a match that lasted just under an hour. Despite a confident start to his tournament with a commanding straight-games win over China’s Wang Zheng Xing, Lakshya struggled to maintain his momentum. Inconsistent shot selection and a lack of rhythm saw him succumb to Naraoka’s steady pace and court coverage.

The 23-year-old Indian, once seen as one of the sport’s rising stars, continues to battle through a patch of erratic form that has derailed his progress in recent months. Thursday’s result marks another missed opportunity for Lakshya to go deep in a major tournament.

India’s hopes rested equally on the shoulders of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, but the men’s doubles stars too faltered, losing 22-24, 14-21 to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in a high-stakes encounter between two former world No. 1 duos.

The fifth-seeded Chinese pair, silver medallists at the Paris Olympics, extended their head-to-head dominance over the Indians to 7-2. Satwik and Chirag had fought well early in the opening game, building an 18-14 lead with some sharp net play and aggressive smashes. However, the momentum slipped away as Wei Keng and Chang clawed back to clinch the game 24-22.

The second game saw the Indian duo struggle with accuracy and defensive lapses. The Chinese pair, brimming with confidence, dictated the pace and exploited gaps in the Indian defence to wrap up the match in straight games. This defeat marks the fourth consecutive loss for Satwik and Chirag against the same opponents.

With these exits, Indian representation in the latter stages of the Japan Open comes to an abrupt end, raising concerns ahead of the upcoming Olympic qualification events. Despite flashes of brilliance, the inability to close out tight games and maintain consistency remains a key area of concern for India’s top players.

As the tournament progresses without any Indian contenders, the focus now shifts to regrouping and addressing form and fitness ahead of the next major stops on the BWF circuit.