CHENNAI: Wednesday was a day that belonged to Kidambi Srikanth from India’s perspective. The former World No 1 showed why he’s such a dangerous opponent to come up against. Unseeded in the ongoing Japan Open, he gave World No 4 Lee Zii Jia a reminder of what he can bring to the table when he’s in the zone.
But Lakshya Sen made an early exit after a three-game (18-21, 21-14, 21-13) loss against Kenta Nishimoto of Japan. In the women’s singles, Saina Nehwal, who was facing top seed, Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, crashed out of the BWF Super 750 in Osaka after losing 21-9, 21-17. The men’s doubles duo of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila lost. Women pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also bowed out.