NEW DELHI: Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen advanced to the quarterfinals of the men’s singles at the Japan Masters with a straight-games win over Singapore’s Jia Heng Jason Teh on Thursday, while his compatriot H.S. Prannoy exited. The 2021 World Championship bronze medallist, seeded seventh, defeated the world No. 20 Teh 21-13, 21-11 in a 39-minute encounter. World No. 15 Lakshya will next face former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the quarterfinals.
Lakshya made a steady start, moving ahead 8-5 in the opening game before Teh briefly edged ahead 10-9. The Indian held the advantage at the break, and at 14-13 he broke away decisively, reeling off seven straight points.
Switching sides, Lakshya was even more dominant, racing to 5-0 and then 11-3 at the interval to shut down any comeback attempt. He maintained control throughout to close out the match comfortably.
Meanwhile, later in the day, Prannoy bowed out of the competition after losing 18-21, 15-21 against Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke. Agencies
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