World No.10 Loh Kean Yew, who won the Madrid Spain Masters earlier this month – his first title since winning the BWF World Championships 2021 – lost a close battle to No.12 Kenta Nishimoto in the opening round of the BANK OF NINGBO Badminton Asia Championships 2024.
Nishimoto overcame the loss of the opening game to beat Loh in a match that stretched for 80 minutes, 18-21 21-18 21-17.
Most of the favoured names progressed to the second round. Top seed Shi Yu Qi beat Lakshya Sen in straight games and will take on Nishimoto next, while second seed Anthony Sinisuka GInting also enjoyed a quick win in his opening battle, against Kidambi Srikanth.
Other Highlights
» Eighth seed Lee Zii Jia beat Priyanshu Rajawat 21-9 21-13 and next faces Chou Tien Chen.
» Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida navigated a potentially dangerous opening round against Jongkolphan Kititharakul/Rawinda Prajongjai, beating the Thais 17-21 21-18 21-16.
» Women’s singles top seed An Se Young was stretched to three games by former world champion Nozomi Okuhara, 21-15 18-21 21-17.
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