Indonesia Masters: PV Sindhu eliminated, Lakshya Sen advances

Jakarta [Indonesia], January 22 (ANI): Two-time Olympic medalist shuttler PV Sindhu was eliminated from the Indonesia Masters badminton tournament following a loss in the first round on Wednesday.
Sindhu, the 12th ranked shuttler in the world, lost to world number 32 Nguyen Thuy Linh of Vietnam 22-20, 21-12 within 37 minutes.
The two-time Olympic medallist began the opening game in commanding fashion, taking an 11-4 lead before the mid-game interval.
Despite holding six-game points at 20-14 at one stage, Sindhu could not capitalise as Nguyen Thuy Linh staged a remarkable comeback to snatch the first game with eight straight points, as per Olympics.com.
The Indian badminton player struggled to find her footing in the second game as the Vietnamese shuttler surged ahead to an 11-5 lead before closing out the match in straight games. This was Sindhu's first loss against Nguyen Thuy Linh in three meetings.
Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen advanced to the round of 16 of the men's singles after beating Japan's Takuma Obayashi 21-9, 21-14 at the BWF Super 500 tournament.
World No. 10 Lakshya Sen, who reached the semi-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, dominated Takuma Obayashi, 37th in the BWF rankings, in both games to wrap up the contest in 39 minutes. Lakshya will take on world No. 15 Kenta Nishimoto of Japan in the next round on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila progressed to the round of 16 in the mixed doubles event. They beat local favourites Adnan Maulana and Indah Cahya Sari Jamil in straight games 21-18, 21-14. The Indian duo will take on Malaysia's Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin for a place in the quarter-finals. (ANI)