Japan Open Badminton LIVE – Lakshya vs Nishimoto LIVE: Lakshya Sen has won GAME 1 by 21-18 but trails in GAME 2: India’s top shuttlers Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal have beging their Japan Open campaigns. All the three Indian players are unseeded in the tournament. They are facing a tough challenge in their opening round today. Lakshya is already on court battling with Kenta Nishimoto of Japan: Follow Japan Open 2022 LIVE updates
Saina Nehwal will be up against World No.1 Akane Yamugachi. Srikanth will face fifth seed Lee Zii Jia. The matches are being streamed LIVE on Voot Select app.
In the Doubles, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila will take on South Korea’s Choi Soi-gyu and Kim Won-ho. Krishnaprasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala will face France’s Popov brothers in the first round.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will face Thailand’s seventh seeded pair Jongkolphon Kititharaku and Rawinda Prajongjai.
Japan Open Badminton LIVE: Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal to begin first round action at Japan Open – Follow LIVE updates
Indians in first round on Wednesday
Men’s Singles
Lakshya Sen LEADS Kenta Nishimoto – In Progress: 21-18,
Kidambi Srikanth vs Lee Zii Jia – 8.30 AM
Women’s Singles
Saina Nehwal vs Akane Yamugachi – 9.10 AM
Men’s Doubles
Arjun / Kapila vs Choi / Kim – 6.30 AM
Garaga / Panjala vs Popov / Popov – 1.10 PM
Women’s Doubles
Jolly / Gopichand vs Kititharakul / Prajongjai – 9.10 AM
Mixed Doubles
Prasad / Dewangan vs Zheng / Huang – 7.50 AM
Lakshya Sen vs Kenta Nishimoto
After suffering a third round defeat at the Badminton World Championships, Lakshya Sen returns to action at the Japan Open as he faces Kenta Nishimoto in the first round. Lakshya Sen has had a terrific year where he won the Indian Open title and finished as runner-up at the All England Championships and German Open. Much recently he on the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games but at the World Championships, couldn’t surpass the challenge from compatriot HS Prannoy in the third round.
Meanwhile, Nishimoto is ranked 21st in the world and he enters the tournament after a third round defeat at BWF World Championships. He started the year with a quarterfinal appearance at the German Open but since then he failed to go past the second round in any tournament before the World Championships. The upcoming contest will be the second meeting between both the players. Lakshya Sen leads the head-to-head record 1-0 and enters the upcoming contest as the favourite.
Kidambi Srikanth vs Lee Zii Jia
Unseeded Kidambi Srikanth faces a big challenge in the first round as he will be up against fifth seed Lee Zii Jia. Srikanth has’nt had a great year as he is yet to reach a final in any tournament. His best performance so far this year is semifinal finish at the Swiss Open and Korea Open. He also made it to the quarterfinals at the German Open and was unbeaten at the Thomas Cup this year. He is eyeing his maiden title this year.
Lee Zii Jia is ranked fourth in the world and he had a good season so far as he won the Asian Championship title and Thailand Open. He also reached the semifinals at All England Championships and Indonesia Open. He enters the Japan Open after bowing out from the third round at the World Championships.
Both the players faced each other twice in the past and on both the occasions, Lee Zii Jia emerged as the winner. They last met during the World Tour finals in 2021 and the Malaysian won the contest in straight games.
Saina Nehwal vs Akane Yamaguchi
Saina Nehwal is the lone Indian in the Women’s Singles and she has a big task ahead as she faces World No.2 Akane Yamaguchi who recently won the World Championship title this year. Nehwal’s best performance this year is a quarterfinal appearance at the Singapore Open. She enters the Japan Open after a third round defeat in the World Championships.
Yamaguchi meanwhile is in prime form having won the All England Championships and World Championship this year. She also finished as runner-up at Asia Championships. She is a favourite to win the title at the Japan Open and enters the upcoming contest as the favourite. Yamaguchi has dominated against Saina Nehwal as she leads the head-to-head record 10-2 against the Indian.
Japan Open Badminton LIVE: Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal to begin first round action at Japan Open – Follow LIVE updates
The post Japan Open Badminton LIVE: Lakshya Sen trails in GAME 2 vs Nishimoto after winning 1st, Srikanth, Saina also in action today: Follow LIVE updates first appeared on Inside Sport India.