New Delhi: Ace shuttler Lakshya Sen made a commanding start to the India Open Super 750, defeating compatriot Ayush Shetty 21-12, 21-15 in the men’s singles opening round at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.

The 2021 World Championships bronze medallist asserted his dominance early, racing to a 17-6 lead in the first game, before closing it out despite a brief six-point resistance from the 20-year-old debutant. In the second game, Ayush opened strongly, but Lakshya regained control and sealed the win with a decisive winner, progressing comfortably in straight games.

“I didn’t expect it to be too tricky, but I think it will get better from the second round,” Lakshya said. “First round is always about adapting to the conditions. He’s a really good opponent, so I had to be fully prepared. I’m just taking one match at a time and focusing on the next round.”

The 24-year-old from Almora will next face Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto, who advanced after seventh seed Kodai Naraoka retired trailing 6-21, 6-7.

Doubles highlights

In women’s doubles, defending Syed Modi International champions Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand began their campaign with a 21-15, 21-11 win over Thailand’s Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn and Sukitta Suwachai. They will face seventh seeds Li Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min of China in the next round.

In men’s doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and M.R. Arjun defeated Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi and Ong Yew Sin 21-15, 21-18, setting up a clash with fourth seeds Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang of China. Top Indian pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, seeded third, progressed via walkover against USA’s Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith.

National women’s doubles finalists Shruti Mishra and Priya Konjengbam fell 21-11, 20-22, 24-22 to Hong Kong’s Lui Lok Lok and Tsang Hiu Yan after saving five match points in a tightly contested encounter lasting over an hour. In mixed doubles, Dhruv Rawat and Maneesha K. went down 9-21, 10-21 to Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa and Nami Matsuyama.

Lakshya looks ahead

Reflecting on the season ahead, Lakshya said, “We have big tournaments coming up, so maintaining a good ranking and peaking at the right time will be important. We have planned our training and skipped a few tournaments to be better prepared for major events like the Asian Games and World Championships.”

The opening day also saw notable upsets, with men’s fourth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei and French sixth seed Alex Lanier exiting early.

(IANS)