Tokyo, July 15 -- India's men's singles challenge at the Japan Open 2026 badminton tournament ended early after both Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty lost their first-roundmatches at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Wednesday.
Lakshya Sen, 14th in men's singles badminton rankings, lost 21-16, 21-14 against world No. 17 Koki Watanabe of Japan.
The 24-year-old Indian badminton player struggled to find his rhythm, trailing 11-6 and 11-5 atthe intervals in both games and was unable to mount a comeback in either, losing the contest in straight games in just 38 minutes, according to olympics.com.
This was Lakshya Sen's third defeat in seven matches against the Japanese shuttler.
Ayush Shetty put up a stronger fight in his tournament opener but...