Men’s singles shuttlers Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, and Priyanshu Rajawat, as well as women’s doubles team Rutuparna and Swetaparna Panda, were eliminated in the first round of the China Masters. Three of India’s top badminton players, Lakshya, Srikanth, and Priyanshu, all lost in their first-round matches, making it a horrible day for Indian fans at the China Masters.
The Canada Open 2023 champion Sen was defeated by China’s Shi Yi Qi in their first-ever meeting with a score of 19-21, 18-21 in the men’s singles first-round match, which lasted 59 minutes on court 1. Sen was eliminated in the first round for the fourth time in a row, following his disappointment in the inaugural Japan Masters last week and his performances at the French Open and the Denmark Open last month. After losing to Kodai Naraoka at the Kumamoto Masters, this was Lakshya’s seventh consecutive first-round exit on the BWF World Tour.
Meanwhile, Srikanth battled back from a game down to lose the decider against fourth-seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn by scores of 15-21, 21-14, 13-21 in the men’s singles opener on court 2 after an hour and two minutes. This is Srikanth’s fourth loss to the Thai shuttler in five matches. It was also his third first-round exit on the BWF World Tour since the Asian Games.
After winning the second game, Srikanth was unable to continue his momentum and lost the match to Vitidsarn. Srikanth had a hat trick of first-round exits on tour this season, in addition to four quarterfinal appearances. He trailed from the start of the first game, as Vitidsarn took an 11-6 lead into the break. Srikanth cut the lead to 12-13, but Vitidsarn went on to win the first game. The second game was a close one, but the Indian shuttler managed to establish a 13-10 lead after the break and maintain his distance to make it 1-all. However, Vitidsarn did not allow Srikanth to retain his momentum and won the decider 21-13.
Earlier on Wednesday, Rajawat exited the China Masters 2023 with a straight games loss 17-21, 14-21. The champion of the Orleans Masters 2023 was defeated by Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto in 46 minutes on court 3.
Going on their current record, Lakshya and Srikanth would struggle to qualify for the Paris Olympics next year. While Lakshya’s chances are still alive, Srikanth’s are dwindling by the day.
