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Time of India
2 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Badminton: Lakshya Sen, Satwik-Chirag exit Japan Open; India's campaign ends in disappointment
India's campaign at the Japan Open Super 750 tournament ended as and the men's doubles pair of and lost their second-round matches on Thursday. World No. 18 Lakshya Sen suffered a defeat against Japan's Kodai Naraoka, losing 19-21, 11-21 in an hour-long men's singles match. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Sen had shown promise in his opening match with a convincing 21-11, 21-18 victory over China's Wang Zheng Xing but couldn't maintain the momentum. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. In men's doubles, fifth-seeded Chinese pair Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang defeated Satwik and Chirag 22-24, 14-21. The Paris Olympics silver medallists Wei Keng and Wang Chang now lead 7-2 in head-to-head matches against the Indian duo. The Indian pair initially struggled but managed to secure an 18-14 lead. However, they couldn't maintain their advantage as the Chinese pair claimed the first game in a thrilling finish. Poll Do you think the Indian badminton players can bounce back in future tournaments? Absolutely Maybe Unlikely Not sure The world number five Chinese duo dominated the second game, with Satwik and Chirag struggling with their smashes and defence. This marked their fourth consecutive loss to Wei Ken and Chang. Anupama Upadhyaya, the last remaining Indian player in the tournament, lost her round-of-16 match against second-seeded Wang Zhi Hi of China. The 55-minute match ended with a score of 21-13, 11-21, 12-21.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Japan Open badminton: PV Sindhu after another first-round exit – ‘It's been a tough year, training-wise it's going well but it's a matter of time and consistency'
A straight-games 21-15, 21-14 defeat on Wednesday against world No 14 Sim Yu Jin at the Japan Open Super 750 on Wednesday in Tokyo meant that PV Sindhu has suffered five first-round exits and three second-round exits in 2025. It's been a frustrating year for the Indian superstar and she admitted that she hasn't able to find the consistency yet, more than six months into the calendar and a World Championships on the horizon. 'It's been a tough year so far. I mean, it's already been six months now. I mean, training-wise it's going on well, but it's just a matter of time and the consistency that I need,' Sindhu told BWF. 'To just keep going and to maintain that pace and make sure I'm playing those long games and long matches. I think I need to go back and practice them again. It is hard to say because I've been training really hard and I wanted to change things and work things out. But, I mean, sometimes it's life. So you have to just keep struggling until you get there.' Her defeat against Sim was a head-scratcher because she showed flashes of attacking brilliance, and in extended rallies, still had the attacking power to put the Korean under trouble. But the unforced errors – and there were far too many of those – meant Simt was never really under any scoreboard pressure. Sindhu's slow starts in both games she was constantly playing catch up. 'I've given her a huge lead in the beginning. I covered, I came back but then it was already too late because, a small error again and I need to catch up. It was basically like I was chasing her more than me taking the initiative,' Sindhu spoke, when asked where she struggled on Wednesday. 'Overall I made some errors, I feel that when I was playing strokes, the shuttle was actually going into her hands, she was able to easily take it instead of me actually making her move. Even my coach was mentioning that I was hitting it to her hands. She was making me move more of most of the times and I think that's where strategy-wise it went a bit wrong.' When asked if Sim's deceptive stroke play troubled her, Sindhu said it was more about allowing her opponent to play the way she wanted. 'Everything starts with the way I play. Where is she, you know, contacting the shuttle. So basically if it's in her hands, she's easily able to play those deceptive strokes because, it's not really hard for her to try new strokes. I think that's where I was lacking at,' Sindhu added. Last month, during her visit to the Sports Sciences facility at the SAI Center Bengaluru, Sindhu spoke to the media about adapting to the demands of the modern women's singles gameplay. 'These days I need to maintain my patience during longer rallies. I am playing rallies that have 30 or 40 strokes. So accordingly, I need to do my physical fitness and endurance. Because I need to withstand being on the court for a very long period. So that way we have been doing changes, and it's good that Irwansyah has come and is training me,' she had said. 'As I said that women's singles has changed and it has been more defensive with long rallies and long matches. We have been working on that, especially in term of being more patient enough to continue that rally and keep the shuttle in the court for a longer period of time,' she had said. Unfortunately at the moment, it just isn't coming together on the court for the 30-year-old.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Japan Open Badminton 2025 Live Streaming: How to watch Lakshya Sen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in action
Japan Open Badminton 2025 Live Streaming Online: PV Sindhu became the first big name from the Indian contingent to be eliminated from the Japan Open Super 750 tournament, losing against Korea's Sim Yu Jin in a first-round match on Wednesday. But the Indian contingent still has plenty of hope floating in the air with stars like Lakshya Sen and the Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty breezing into the next round at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. Lakshya defeated world No 24 from China, the left-handed Wang Zheng Xing, while in men's doubles, Satwik-Chirag overcame a tricky opening-round test against Kang Min Hyuk (half of the World Championship-winning Kang-Seo Seung Jae pairing) and Ki Dong Ju. After setting up a second-round clash with Japanese star Kodai Naraoka, Lakshya said: 'It feels really good to win a match. I've been struggling on the court and off the court with niggles, which are keeping me away from badminton. It's frustrating, the last few months, but I'm focussed and trying to do the right thing. I've been training well over the last few months. There were certain shoulder and ankle injuries. I was doing everything else to protect those parts. I've put in some good training weeks, and I'm just hoping that I get back to winning ways and play more matches. Play freely, win or lose, just go there and fight.' Here's all you need to know about watching the Japan Open Super 750 tournament live: Where is the Japan Open badminton 2025 tournament happening? The Japan Open badminton tournament is happening in Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. How to watch Japan Open badminton 2025 live via streaming in India? Live streaming of the Japan Open 2025 badminton matches is happening on JioHotstar. How to watch Japan Open badminton 2025 live on television in India? The live telecast of Japan Open badminton is available on Star Sports 3, Star Sports Select 1 and Sports 18 Network TV channels in India. Here's India's badminton squad that has travelled to Tokyo for the Super 750 tournament: Men's singles: Lakshya Sen Women's singles: PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda, Anupama Upadhyaya, Rakshitha Ramraj Men's doubles: Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Hariharan Amsakarunan-Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi Women's doubles: Rutaparna Panda-Swetaparna Panda, Kavipriya Selvam-Simran Singhi
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Japan Open Badminton: Satwik and Chirag hoping to be injury-free at the same time after a frustrating year
From being the World No 1 not too long ago, consistently going to the finals and being in contention for World Tour titles, and even entering Paris Olympics as one of the medal favourites, the past year has been one filled with frustrations for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. The Indian duo, after their first-round win at Japan Open Super 750 on Wednesday, hoped that in the lead-up to the World Championships next month in Paris, they can be injury-free together. That is why they decided to skip the North American circuit on the BWF World Tour after the Singapore-Indonesia leg where Chirag played through a back niggle. Satwik and Chirag made a strong start to their campaign in Tokyo, easing past South Korea's Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju 21-18, 21-10 to move into the last 16. '(This break) was actually needed,' Chirag said. 'We had sent entry for US, Canada as well. But after Singapore and Indonesia, we needed that break because I especially was not fit enough leading up to the Singapore-Indonesia Open. But right now, I had some good couple of weeks, body feels much better than it was. We just took a break the first week after we got back, freshened up. And then got back to practice. Satwik said that the goal for World Championships is to just work a way out to remain healthy, simultaneously, instead of one of them carrying a niggle. 'For us, (the target before Worlds) is to get fit 100%, both of us. It's been up and down. Once he's better, I'll have some niggles. Once I'm better, he's having some niggles. So we haven't played without injury for the past one year. So we have been struggling with niggles, niggles.' Even in this period of ups and downs, SatChi have been the most consistent performers from India on the circuit, reaching semifinals at Malaysia Open, India Open and Singapore Open. 'Still, we are managing to play some good quality games. So that is a positive side,' Satwik added. But right now, our aim is to get injury-free and be healthy all the time. And just not thinking so much ahead. No goals as of now. Obviously, we want to do well, but at the same time, we want to be healthy. And once we are healthy, I know we can do well. So the only thing is injuries are holding us, restricting our game. But right now, we are both feeling good because we had a break after Singapore. Both are really fit enough, so we'll see how it goes.' Another player hoping to put together a good run in the weeks ahead of Paris Worlds, is the man who was India's best performer at the very arena last year at the Olympics but came agonisingly short of the podium. Lakshya Sen produced a composed performance to defeat China's Wang Zheng Xing 21-11, 21-18, setting up a second-round clash with Japanese star and home favourite Kodai Naraoka. 'It feels really good to win a match,' said the world No 18 in his post-match chat with BWF. 'I've been struggling on the court and off the court with niggles, which are keeping me away from badminton. It's frustrating, the last few months, but I'm focussed and trying to do the right thing. 'I've been training well over the last few months. There were certain shoulder and ankle injuries. I was doing everything else to protect those parts. I've put in some good training weeks, and I'm just hoping that I get back to winning ways and play more matches. Play freely, win or lose, just go there and fight.'
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Japan Open badminton: Error-prone PV Sindhu knocked out in Round 1 again; Lakshya Sen, Satwik-Chirag make winning starts
Late in her first-round match against Korea's Sim Yu Jin at the Japan Open Super 750 on Wednesday, PV Sindhu first hit a backhand smash and then a forehand tap so wide that it missed – forget the singles lines – the outer lines drawn on the green badminton court. It wasn't near misses. Commentator Gillian Clark wondered: 'How many unforced errors do you think Sindhu has made in this match?' Co-commentator Steen Pedersen responded: 'Too many, way too many.' Last month, Aryna Sabalenka rued the number of unforced errors she made in the Roland Garros final against Coco Gauff; she knew the exact number (70) because those stats are readily available for a tennis match. Over the last fortnight at Wimbledon, the official website had an AI-powered match chat option, where you could ask for a wide variety of statistics from a match. Badminton, unfortunately, has never been good at this as only the most basic stats are available for a match – not even the winners and unforced errors count. But if they were, they wouldn't make good reading for Sindhu. Her 21-15, 21-14 defeat against world No.14 Sim would and should frustrate Sindhu, not just for the result, because she simply made far too many mistakes on her own racket against an opponent she had never lost to in three previous encounters. Sindhu has insisted this year that she is feeling fully fit, focussing on training hard and staying injury free, and believing that she still has the fire and drive to go deep in tournaments. But the evidence for that on court hasn't been seen apart from a few flashes of the old grit that took her to the rightly-deserved legendary status. Against Sim too, it was a case of not being able to consistently play percentage shots to stay alive in the rallies – because when she did extend the points long enough, Sim, too, was making errors. Like when Sindhu closed the gap from 3-9 in Game 1, like when she drew level at 11-11 from 1-5 down in Game 2. One of the more frustrating aspects of Sindhu's defeats this year has been a tendency to misjudge the length of shuttles both in attack and defence, and she again struggled with that in this match. Twice she let the shuttles drop in the backend of the opening game when she was putting Sim under pressure, twice she challenged and twice she lost her reviews. And the first three points she has lost in Game 2 were again because of letting the shuttle drop within the lines on the backcourt. Except maybe the third one, where Sim had Sindhu scrambling back with a perfect lift, the Indian could have easily returned the other two and kept the rally going. Ultimately, from 11-11, Sindhu's radar started to misfire again and she – perhaps fittingly – conceded the match with a series of unforced errors. Earlier in the day, Lakshya Sen and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty made winning starts to their campaigns at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. Up against world No.24 Chinese left-hander Wang Zheng Xing, Lakshya appeared dialled in from the word go. The Indian made a super fast start, going up 11-2. His movement to the frontcourt was sharp, he wasn't hesitant to find the angles, and take pace off the shuttle with his half smashes – usually a tell-tale sign that he is operating in a good zone, as he took the opener 21-11. Wang started to work his way back into the match, and his finish to the first game gave him some momentum at the start of the second, although Lakshya kept an early lead. Wang kept narrowing the gap down but Lakshya's lead never really looked under threat and the Indian finished the match off with a searing down-the-line smash and a fist pump. He now has a reunion with his Class of 2019 batchmate Kodai Naraoka next, where the Indian trails 2-4 in the Head-to-Head, having lost two of his last three matches since 2022. In men's doubles, Satwik-Chirag faced a tricky opening-round test against Kang Min Hyuk (half of the World Championship-winning Kang-Seo Seung Jae pairing) and Ki Dong Ju. Kang's power game from the backcourt, and the Koreans' generally sharper movement, caused early troubles for the Indians, who trailed 8-11 at the mid-game point. But Satwik-Chirag made a fast start post-interval, quickly drawing level at 11-11 and had their first lead of the match at 14-13. As the momentum started to shift, the Indians started dictating the tempo and not being reactive to what the Koreans were doing. In a game where the rallies barely extended beyond the first four or five shots, Satwik-Chirag won a crucial extended exchange at 18-17 to arrest a mini revival by Kang and Ki and eventually took the lead 21-18. One of the areas that has troubled the Indians in the recent past is the service return situations, but the Koreans barely troubled Satwik-Chirag on their serves, unable to win an extended run of points. A 27-shot rally at 16-10 in Game 2 was the longest of the match and SatChi were in complete control by this point, with Chirag often taking charge in the first three shots and Satwik putting away smashes at will. It eventually was a cruise into the second round for the former World No 1s. Vinayakk Mohanarangan is Senior Assistant Editor and is based in New Delhi. ... Read More
