PV Sindhu lost to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi 21-18, 21-15 in a hard-fought women’s singles quarterfinals.

Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the semifinals of the Thailand Open after defeating Japan’s Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami 21-12, 21-13 in 41 minutes on Friday in Patumwan.

The defending Asian Games champions and top seeded, dominated from the beginning, racing to a 10-0 lead in the opening game. Although the Japanese pair fought for a comeback in the second game by levelling the scores at 6-all, the Indians proved too strong to break down. Satwik and Chirag will next face third seeded Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin of Malaysia for a place in the final.

In women’s singles, PV Sindhu took the opening game 21-19 against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi but could not maintain the momentum, with the Japanese bouncing back to win the next two games 21-18, 21-15 in a hard-fought battle lasting one hour and 10 minutes.

In men’s singles, Lakshya Sen, the runner-up at the All England Open, was eliminated by Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn. The Indian shuttler lost 19-21, 16-21.

EOM