Japan Open 2026: Ayush Shetty, Unnati Hooda, Lakshya Sen Make First-Round Exits

India's campaign at the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament suffered a major setback on Wednesday as Ayush Shetty, Unnati Hooda and Lakshya Sen crashed out in the opening round, leaving the country with only a handful of contenders in the prestigious event.

The biggest fight came from Ayush Shetty , who pushed Thailand's second seed and former world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn to the limit before losing 19-21, 25-23, 15-21 in an engrossing 82-minute men's singles contest. The 21-year-old Indian, who had defeated the Thai star during his run to the Asia Championships final earlier this year, showed remarkable resilience by saving four match points in the second game to force a decider.

Ayush started strongly and held an early advantage in the opening game, but Kunlavut gradually took control and edged ahead. The Indian responded brilliantly in the second game, recovering from a difficult position and surviving multiple match points before levelling the match. However, the Thai shuttler dominated the deciding game, opening a healthy lead and maintaining it to close out the contest.

In women's singles, Unnati Hooda also fought hard but fell short against Huang Yu-Hsun . The Indian won the opening game 21-16 before losing momentum and eventually went down 21-16, 16-21, 15-21 . It was her second defeat to the Chinese Taipei player in as many meetings.

Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen endured a disappointing outing, suffering a straight-games defeat to Japan's Koki Watanabe . The local favourite prevailed 21-16, 21-14 in just 38 minutes, improving his head-to-head record against the Indian to 4-3.

The trio's early exits come at an important time for Indian badminton, with India set to host the BWF World Championships 2026 in New Delhi next month after a gap of 17 years.

India's hopes in the USD 950,000 tournament now rest on PV Sindhu and the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto . Sindhu is scheduled to face China's Han Yue , while Dhruv and Tanisha will take on top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping in the second round on Thursday.