Indian commuter Kidambi Srikanth has been knocked out of the 2022 Japan Open after suffering a 10-21, 16-21 straight loss to unranked Japanese Kanta Tsuneyama.
In the opener, Tsuneyama took a 5-3 lead in the opener and continued his momentum to seal the first round 21-10 to his name. In round two, Srikanth took a 6-4 lead and looked sharper than in round one.
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The Indian badminton player also led at 11-9 at halftime, but Tsuneyama turned the momentum on his side, leading the match 19-15. Srikanth couldn’t bounce back from there and lost the second round 21-16.
Srikanth had a great outing in the first round of the Japan Open beating fifth seed Lee Zii Jia in straight matches. Still, he was not seen on pace at all in the second round.
He hasn’t even had a great year as he hasn’t reached the final of any tournament this year so far. Her last best performance was the semi-finals of the Swiss Open and the Korea Open.
Although Srikanth was a higher ranked player than world number one. 17 Japanese but the latter showed his qualities and entered the quarters.
However, it wasn’t the first time the two had faced each other when they met in 2019 at the Korea Masters with Matsuyama winning the contest in straight sets.
While, in positive news from the world of badminton today, HS Prannoy defeated former world champion Loh Kean Yew in straight sets 22-20, 21-19 and booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Japan Open.
In the opening match, Prannoy saved three game points when trailing 17-20 but with all the courage and classic punches he won the set 22-20. In game two, Loh Kean Yew grabbed the game well and gained much-needed momentum as he trailed 11-4 at halftime. The situation looked tense and difficult on Prannoy’s part, but he fearlessly made a cover-up and eventually tied at 17 all.
Both players played solid badminton shots, but Prannoy’s strategic shots dominated on the front court, earning him the match and earning him a ticket to another quarter-final.
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