Indonesia Open 2021: Lakshya Sen goes down fighting vs World No. 1 Kento Momota, Parupalli Kashyap ousted

India’s rising badminton star Lakshya Sen on Tuesday went down fighting against World No. 1 Kento Momota of Japan in the opening round of the men’s singles event at the Super 1000 tournament in Bali.

The 21-year-old, regarded as one of the best young talents in the country, lead Kento Momota 18-14 in the first game but he allowed the advantage slip as Momota took a 20-18 lead. Lakshya saved 2 game points but it was not enough as the Japanese top seed sealed the opening game.

Momota pulled ahead and took the match 23-21, 21-15 in 53 minutes. Lakshya can take heart from the fight he showcased against Momota, who also defeated the young Indian last week at the Indonesia Masters.

In another men’s singles match, Parupalli Kashyap went down 11-21 14-21 to Loh Kean Yew of Singapore to bow out of the competition.

Men’s doubles pair of M R Arjun and Dhruv Kapila lost 20-22 13-21 to Korea’s Choi Solgyu and Kim Wonho in the opening round.

Venkat Gaurav Prasad and Juhi Dewangan too had a dismal day as they went down 12-21 4-21 to Germany pair of Jones Ralfy Jansen and Linda Efler.