Satwik-Chirag loses, Lakshya Sen advances to the Japan Open semifinals

Lakshya Sen of India kept up his excellent streak on Thursday, defeating Koki Watanabe of Japan in straight games to advance to the semifinals of the Japan Open Super 750 badminton competition.

Sen, who won the bronze medal at the 2021 world championship, defeated Watanabe, who was ranked 33rd, by a score of 21-15 21-19 to advance to the semifinals for the third time in a row after his successes in Canada and the United States.

 

The defending Commonwealth Games champion, a 21-year-old from Almora, will take against either Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie, the fifth seed, or Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the third seed.

 

The in-form men’s doubles team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, however, was unable to bring their “A” game, losing to Olympic winners Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lan of Chinese Taipei after battling 15-21 25-23 16-21.

 

Sen, who had earlier this month won the Canada Open Super 500, took an early 5-3 lead before expanding it to 11-7 at the half. The Indian easily outwitted the Japanese and quickly won the first game with two cross-court returns on each side of the court.

 

Watanabe attempted to speed up the rallies when the sides switched, but Sen seemed to be in control and increased his lead to 3-2 with a beautiful cross-court drop. Sen’s backhand slammed into the net at the conclusion of a 42-shot rally, which Watanabe turned around to lead 5-3 before further solidifying at 7-3.

 

When things for Sen, who trailed 7-14, seemed to be going south, the Japanese bolstered his defense.

 

The Indian, though, orchestrated a comeback by luring his rival to the goal and effectively used drop shots. At 18-17, he quickly reversed the situation by smashing the cross court.

 

Sen earned one match point after making two accurate returns on his opponent’s backhand. After earning the point, Sen flung his racquet in delight.

 

Six tiers make up the BWF World Tour: World Tour Finals, four Super 1000s, six Super 750s, seven Super 500s, and eleven Super 300s.

 

The BWF Tour Super 100 level is another division of the competition that awards ranking points.