Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Aug 31: Lakshya Sen, Commonwealth Games champion, was unexpectedly defeated by Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto in the second round of the Japan Open Super 750 badminton competition on Wednesday in Osaka.
The bronze-medal-winning player from Almora, age 21, lost to world number 21 Nishimoto in a men’s singles match that lasted an hour and six minutes by scores of 21-18, 14-21, and 13-21.
In two encounters, it was his first loss to a Japanese opponent. Choi Sol Gyu and Kim Won Ho of Korea defeated MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila of India in men’s doubles, who had advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Championships and climbed nine positions to world number 26, 21-19, 21-23, and 15-21.
Juhi Dewangan and Venkat Gaurav Prasad, a mixed doubles team, were defeated by the top-seeded Chinese team of Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong in 23 minutes, losing 11-21 10-21.
