Tokyo, July 15 (IANS) India’s campaign at the Japan Open suffered an early setback after star men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were forced to retire from their opening-round contest due to Satwik’s recurring shoulder injury, while two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu made a confident start by advancing to the women’s singles second round on Tuesday.
Returning to competition for the first time since withdrawing from the Indonesia Open in June, the world No. 4 duo could not complete their comeback match against Denmark’s Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard. The Indians dropped a closely-fought opening game 19-21 before deciding not to continue, with Satwik once again troubled by the shoulder injury that has sidelined the pair for the past month.
The latest setback also rules the pair out of next week’s China Open, as the duo now look to prepare themselves for the BWF World Championships in India next month.
The injury comes just weeks after Satwik and Chirag had ended a two-year wait for a BWF World Tour title by lifting the Singapore Open crown in May, only for Satwik to aggravate his shoulder problem during the opening round in Indonesia.
Sindhu, meanwhile, ensured there was positive news for India with a commanding 21-14, 21-11 victory over Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching in just 35 minutes.
The world No. 10 dictated the rallies from the outset, building a healthy advantage midway through the opening game before mixing aggressive smashes with delicate net play to move ahead by one game. She maintained the same intensity after the change of ends, racing to an 11-3 interval lead in the second game and never allowing her opponent back into the contest.
The victory extended Sindhu’s unbeaten record against Wong to 3-0 and booked her place in the second round of the BWF Super 750 event.
India also enjoyed success in the mixed doubles draw as Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto progressed with a 21-16, 21-14 win over Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Julie Macpherson.
However, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde bowed out after suffering an 11-21, 10-21 defeat to top-seeded Chinese pair Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping in the opening round.
India’s campaign will continue on Wednesday, with Lakshya Sen and Unnati Hooda set to begin their singles campaigns, while Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun are scheduled to face Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan in the men’s doubles first round.
–IANS
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