Lakshya Sen Loses to Vitidsarn; Satwik-Chirag Enter Thailand Open Semis

Kunlavut started with an early 11-2 lead in the opening game, but Lakshya responded strongly with five consecutive points to reduce the deficit to four. Despite a hard fight, the Indian shuttler could not get past the Olympic silver medallist loosing 19-21, 16-21.

Earlier, India's top men's doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, moved into the semifinals of the Thailand Open with a strong victory in Bangkok on Friday.

Meanwhile, P. V. Sindhu faced a quarterfinal exit after losing a tough match against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi.

The top-seeded Indian men's doubles team dominated Japan's Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami, winning 21-12, 21-13 in just 41 minutes. This marks their first semifinal appearance at a BWF World Tour event in 2026.

Playing against the world No. 34 Japanese pair for the first time, Satwik and Chirag were in full control from the start. They jumped to an impressive 10-0 lead in the first game before Nomura and Shimogami finally scored.

Although the sixth-seeded Japanese pair made a brief comeback after the interval and cut the lead to four points at 10-14, the Indian duo quickly regained their edge to finish the opening game with ease.

The second game was a bit more competitive at the beginning, with the Japanese pair staying within two points for much of the first half. However, Satwik and Chirag kept their cool and gradually pulled away, closing out the match decisively.

The world No. 4 Indian pair, looking for their first title since winning the Thailand Open in 2024, will face either Malaysia's third-seeded pair Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin or Scotland's Christopher Grimley and Matthew Grimley in the semifinals.

Earlier, double Olympic medallist Sindhu lost her match 21-19, 18-21, 15-21 to top seed and world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi in a hard-fought women's singles quarterfinal.

Sindhu started the match with a good 15-11 head-to-head record against the Japanese star and managed to win a tight opening game, trading points until the score was tied at 19-19. She then won the next two points to take the lead.

In the second game, the sixth-seeded Sindhu looked strong as she held a four-point lead at the mid-game interval. However, a string of unforced errors allowed Yamaguchi to take seven straight points and turn the match around.

The Japanese player took advantage of this shift to push the match into a deciding game and dominated the third game to secure victory in 61 minutes.

- IANS