Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu continued her poor run of form as she made another first-round exit after losing in straight games to Chinas Zhang Yi Man in the Japan Open 2023 badminton tournament at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo on Wednesday.Sindhu, who is 17th in the womens singles badminton rankings, was completely outplayed by Zhang Yi Man, ranked one point below in 18th, losing the match with figures of 12-21 13-21 as the bout only lasted 32 minutes. This marked the seventh first-round exit for Sindhu in 13 BWF World Tour events in 2023.PV Sindhu has been a shadow of her former self after a stress fracture injury kept her out for five months, and lost to Chinese Taipeis Pai Yu Po in the Korea Open opener last week.HERE WE GO!! In typical Fabrizio style, I am thrilled to announce Hafiz Hashim as my new coach!!After a long, drawn-out process, I am ecstatic to declare that I have chosen the incredible Hafiz Hashim as my coach. Hafiz possesses all the traits I was seeking in a coach,… pic.twitter.com/BZj7YHFtyc— Pvsindhu (@Pvsindhu1) July 18, 2023Sindhu has recently started working under the guidance of former Malaysian badminton player Muhammad Hafiz Hashim, and she would be eager to improve her form before the 2024 Paris Olympics next year.Satwik-Chirag advance to Japan Open second roundThe doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, fresh off their Korea Open title victory on Sunday, dispatched the Indonesian pair of Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin to advance to the second round, where they will face the Denmark duo of Jeppe Bay and Lasse Molhede.It was by no means an easy victory for Satwik and Chirag, who had to dig deep after their opponents took the match into the third set, finally emerging victorious 21-16 11-21 21-13.Lakshya Sen also won on the Japan Open opening day, beating Indian youngster Priyanshu Rajawat 21-15 12-21 24-22. He will face Japans Kanta Tsuneyama in the second round.
