By India Today Sports Desk: India shuttlers had a great start at the Japan Open Super 750 tournament in Tokyo on Tuesday, July 25. HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth claimed impressive victories, and Gayatri Gopichand and Jolly Treesa moved on to the second round in the women’s doubles category.
The tournament, which took place at Tokyo’s Yoyogi National Gymnasium, saw both Prannoy and Srikanth defeating higher-ranked opponents, providing a promising start to their campaign.
Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, currently ranked 20th, exhibited his skills by defeating the 8th ranked Chou Tien-Chen from Chinese Taipei. The match lasted 43 minutes and ended with a convincing 21-13, 21-13 victory for Srikanth. This was Srikanth’s second win against Chou in their eight meetings.
HS Prannoy, who is ranked 8th and 10th in the badminton rankings, also left his mark by defeating the 7th ranked and reigning All England champion Li Shi Feng from the Republic of China. The match lasted for 49 minutes and marked Prannoy’s third consecutive win against the Chinese shuttler.
Srikanth and Prannoy are now set to face each other in the pre-quarterfinals of the BWF Super 750 tournament.
GAYATRI AND JOLLY’S PROGRESS
However, the tournament didn’t bring victories for the entire Indian contingent. In the women’s singles category, Aakarshi Kashyap faced a tough defeat against top-ranked Japanese shuttler Akane Yamaguchi. Despite a spirited performance, Kashyap lost 21-17, 21-17 in a match that lasted 34 minutes.
On the bright side, the Indian duo of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly achieved a comeback victory in the women’s doubles category. They defeated the Japanese pair of Sayaka Hobara and Yui Suizu with a score of 11-21, 21-15, 21-14, advancing to the pre-quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, and Korea Open champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will start their campaigns in the Japan Open on Wednesday, July 26. Notably, Lakshya will compete against fellow Indian Priyanshu Rajawat, while Sindhu, ranked 17th, faces a challenging match against the 18th ranked Zhang Yi Man of China.
The Japan Open 2023 is a significant event as the results will contribute towards players’ qualifying rankings for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
