Indonesia Open 2023 | Lakshya Sen slams Lee Zii Jia, to face Kidambi Srikanth in second round
It turned out to be a great day for the Indian shuttlers at the Indonesia Open, as Kidambi Srikanth and Lakshya Sen registered wins over higher-ranked opponents in straight games. Sen got past former world no. 2 Lee Zii Jia 21-17, 21-13, while Srikanth beat China's Lu Guang Zu 21-13, 21-19.
Sen looked in superlative form as he raced past Jia when the scores were tied at 17-17 in the first game. The Indian won four points on the trot to take the lead in the match. From there on, he wrapped up the match in 33 minutes.
On the other hand, it was a tighter game for Srikanth, but he managed to extend his lead over the Chinese to 5-0. Now he will face Sen in the second round. Priyanshu Rajawat, who is fast rising the ranks, got a walkover handed by Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
But it was curtains for India’s Aakarshi Kashyap, who surrendered meekly 21-10, 21-4 to world No. 2 An Se Young of the Republic of Korea. Meanwhile, Sindhu, HS Prannoy, and the team of Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy are in the next rounds. The second-round matches will take place on Thursday.