Lakshya Sen, Satwik-Chirag exit Indonesia Masters

After a tough fight on Thursday at the Indonesia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament, world No. 10 Lakshya Sen lost to Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 16-21, 21-12, 21-23 in the second round, while the champion men's doubles pair of the Asian Games, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, also bowed out.
Sen, the Asian Games silver medallist, lost the first game as the Japanese effectively countered Sen's defensive strategy. He established a commanding 9-3 lead, maintaining control throughout. Although Sen attempted to recover at 10-11, Nishimoto's swift gameplay secured him the first game convincingly.
Sen began the second game aggressively, establishing a 6-3 advantage with a powerful smash. Despite Nishimoto's strategy of extended rallies to exhaust Sen, the Indian's clever shot selection secured him an 11-6 advantage at the interval.
Nishimoto's net errors mounted whilst Sen's exceptional defensive skills helped extend his advantage to 16-8.
The Japanese player struggled with court conditions as Sen efficiently accumulated points, winning the second game 21-12 and taking the match to a final game.
After switching sides, Sen faced difficulties as Nishimoto built a quick 5-1 lead in the deciding game, but Sen maintained his composure to level the score at 7-7.
Although Sen claimed his first lead in the decider with an impressive jump smash, court conditions affected his play, leading to a 9-11 deficit at the final interval, from which he couldn't recover.
Satwik and Chirag were eliminated from the competition following a closely contested 20-22, 21-23 defeat against Thailand's duo Kittinupong Kedren and Dechapol Puavaranukroh.
This setback came after their impressive performances, reaching consecutive semifinals at the Malaysia Super 1000 and India Super 750 tournaments in the previous fortnight.
Also the Indian mixed doubles team of Dhruv Kapila and Tanshia Crasto were eliminated from the competition. Despite securing an initial advantage, they succumbed to Malaysia's Pang Ron Hoo and Su Yin Cheng, losing 21-18, 15-21, 19-21 in their second-round match.