Star singles player Lakshya Sen lost in straight games in the Japan Open badminton event, which has already eliminated PV Sindhu and men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. This further hurt India’s badminton challenge at the Japan Open 2025.
Sen lost 21-19, 21-11 in the second round of the coveted Super 750 competition to home favorite Kodai Naraoka, who was unable to mount much of a fight. Since Anupama Upadhyaya is the only Indian remaining in the tournament as of this writing, the outcome effectively ends India’s challenge. Sen, the top-ranked men’s singles player in India, defeated Wang Zheng Xing of China with relative ease in the opening round, raising hopes that he would have a respectable tournament run.
Satwik-Chirag Loses to Liang-Wang, Head-to-Head Trails 2–7
In the second round of the Japan Open on Thursday, the Chinese pair of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang showed the Indian badminton team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty the way out. In a match that lasted just under forty-five minutes, Rankireddy and Shetty lost to Keng and Chang 22-24, 14-21, extending the Chinese pair’s record against India’s top-ranked pair to 7-2.
The first game started slowly, but Satwik and Chirag found their groove and took an 18–14 lead. However, they were unable to sustain their lead as the Chinese rallied for an exciting first game.
Similar trends were seen in the second game, where the world number six pair maintained their supremacy. Due to their offensive and defensive shortcomings, the Indians lost to Wei Keng and Wang Chang for the fourth time in a row.
Sindhu was eliminated in an even harsher manner. Sim Yu Jin of South Korea defeated her in the first round itself, 15-21, 14-21. In the opening round of the badminton tournament in Japan, Sindhu lost for the seventh consecutive time and failed to advance past the second round. A further indication of how bad her recent form has been is the fact that five of her first-round exits occurred in 2025 alone. Concerns regarding the state of Indian badminton are further raised by the fact that three medal hopefuls with a high chance of winning could not even advance to the last four.
Also Read: Does PV Sindhu’s Form After Japan Open Spell Trouble For India’s Olympic Hopes?
