Tokyo, July 15 -- India's challenge in the men's singles draw at the Japan Open 2026 came to an early end after Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty suffered first-round defeats at the BWF Super 750 tournament at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Wednesday.

World No. 14 Lakshya Sen was outplayed by Japan's Koki Watanabe, going down 21-16, 21-14 in a match that lasted just 38 minutes. The Indian struggled to find his rhythm throughout the contest, trailing 11-6 and 11-5 at the mid-game intervals of the two games before Watanabe comfortably sealed victory in straight games, according to Olympics.com.

The defeat marked Lakshya's third loss in seven career meetings against the world No. 17 Japanese shuttler.

Ayush Shetty, meanwhile, produced a s...