PV Sindhu crashes out in first round of Japan Open

PV Sindhu suffered another early exit in what has become a challenging season, while Lakshya Sen and the men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty progressed to the second round with confident wins at the Japan Open Super 750 tournament on Wednesday.

Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist and former world champion, went down 15-21, 14-21 to Korea’s Sim Yu Jin in a disappointing first-round performance. The 30-year-old appeared rusty and struggled to find rhythm, committing several unforced



errors and misjudging the shuttle length. This marks Sindhu’s fifth first-round defeat of the season, raising concerns.

On the other hand, the men’s doubles team of Satwik and Chirag, currently ranked 15th in the world, delivered a commanding performance. They overcame Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk and Kim Dong Ju 21-18, 21-10 in just 42 minutes. Although the opening game was closely contested, the Indian pair shifted gears in the second, displaying better coordination and shot selection to dominate proceedings.