IMAGE: Lakshya Sen fell to Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen in a tense three-game battle. Photograph: Lakshya Sen/Instagram
Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen crashed out in the opening round of the Thailand Open, while Aakarshi Kashyap and Unnati Hooda advanced after hard-fought victories in the Super 500 tournament here on Wednesday.
Sen fell to Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen in a tense three-game battle, losing 18-21, 21-9, 17-21 in a men’s singles match that lasted one hour and 20 minutes.
After dropping the first game, Sen found his rhythm in the second, dominating with aggressive rallies. However, Nguyen held his nerve in a close-decider, edging ahead at 17-13 before sealing the win.
Priyanshu Rajawat too made a first-round exit as he went down 13-21, 21-17, 16-21 against Alwi Farhan of Indonesia.
In women’s singles, Aakarshi survived a thrilling contest against Japan’s Kaoru Sugiyama, winning 21-16, 20-22, 22-20. It was a match of narrow margins, with the Indian holding her nerve in the final stages of the decider.
Unnati also fought her way through to the next round, registering a gritty 21-14, 18-21, 23-21 victory over Thailand’s Thamonwan Nithiittikrai.
However, it was the end of the road for Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj, who lost her women’s singles opener 18-21, 7-21 to eighth seed Yeo Jia Min of Singapore.
