Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth knocked out of Japan Open 2022 after suffering straight loss 10-21, 16-21 from Japan’s unseeded Kanta Tsuneyama.
In the opening game, Tsuneyama took a 5-3 lead in the opening game and carried the momentum forward to seal the first round 21-10 to his name. In the second round, Srikanth took a 6-4 lead and looked quite sharper than the first round.
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The Indian badminton player was leading at 11-9 in the mid game break as well but Tsuneyama turned the momentum to his side, leading the game 19-15. Srikanth couldn’t bounce back from there and lost the second round 21-16.
Srikanth had a great outing in the Japan Open first round as he defeated fifth seed Lee Zii Jia in straight games. However, he was not at all seen in rhythm in the second round.
He didn’t even have a great year as he failed to reach to the finals of any tournament this year so far. His last best performance was the semi-final finish at the Swiss Open and Korea Open.
Though Srikanth was a higher-ranked player than the World no. 17 Japanese but the latter showcased his skills and made his move to the quarters.
However, it was not the first time when both the players faced each other as they met in 2019 at the Korea Masters with Matsuyama winning the contest in straight sets.
While, in one positive news from the badminton world today, HS Prannoy defeated former World champion Loh Kean Yew in straight sets 22-20, 21-19 and booked his place in quarterfinals of the Japan Open.
In the opening game, Prannoy saved three game points when he was down 17-20 but with all the courage and classic shots, he won the round 22-20.In the second game, Loh Kean Yew had tightly grasped the match and had taken the much needed momentum as he led 11-4 in the mid-game break. The situation looked tensed and difficult from Prannoy but he fearlessly made a cover-up and eventually tied at 17 all.
Both the players played some solid badminton shots but Prannoy’s strategic shots dominated at the front court that won him the match and earned him a ticket to another quarter-final.
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