Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu is now India’s only remaining singles contender at the Japan Open 2026 after Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda suffered first-round exits on Wednesday at the BWF Super 750 tournament.
India’s men’s singles campaign came to an abrupt end as Lakshya and Ayush were both knocked out, while Unnati also bowed out in the women’s singles draw, leaving Sindhu to carry the country’s hopes in the singles events.
Lakshya, ranked World No. 14, was outplayed by Japan’s Koki Watanabe, who delighted the home crowd with a convincing 21-16, 21-14 victory at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
The Indian struggled to wrest control of the contest as Watanabe dictated play in both games, sealing the win in just 38 minutes to register his third victory over Lakshya in seven meetings.
Ayush Shetty came within touching distance of a major upset against World No. 2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn but eventually lost a hard-fought three-game encounter.
After narrowly dropping the opening game 21-19, Ayush showed tremendous grit by saving four match points before edging the second 25-23. However, the Thai star regained control in the decider to complete a 21-15 win and advance to the second round.
Unnati fights back but falls short
In the women’s singles draw, Unnati Hooda also exited despite producing a spirited comeback against Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu-Hsun.
After losing the opening game 16-21, the Indian levelled the contest by taking the second 21-16 before Huang wrapped up the deciding game 21-15.
With the latest results, Sindhu remains India’s only survivor in the singles competition.
India’s campaign, however, is still alive in the mixed doubles, where Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila remain in contention.
The country’s men’s doubles challenge had already ended on Tuesday after Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and MR Arjun-Hariharan Amsakarunan bowed out in the opening round, with Satwik and Chirag’s defeat compounded by another injury setback.