India’s campaign in the Japan Open Super 750 faced a major setback on Wednesday as Ayush Shetty, Unnati Hooda and Lakshya Sen all fell in the first row.The early exit comes at a tense time, with India set to host the World Championship in New Delhi next month after a gap of 17 years.Ayush almost pulled off the upset, pushing former world champion and second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand before succumbing 19-21, 25-23, 15-21 in an 82-minute battle.Unnati Hooda fought back after dropping the first game but lost 21-16, 16-21, 15-21 to Huang Yu-Hsun of Chinese Taipei, her second loss to the same opponent. Lakshya Sen, meanwhile, struggled against Japan’s Koki Watanabe and went down 16-21, 14-21 in just 38 minutes.Ayush, 21, got off to a good start and took the lead before Kunlavut came back to take the opening game. The Indian stayed in the contest in the second game and won in a stunning fashion as the Thai scored four goals. Ayush saved all four, won a tight contest and forced the deciding game.The run, however, did not last long as Kunlavut quickly took control, opening up a healthy lead before finishing the game well.With three early exits, India’s hopes now rest on the two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and the mixing duo of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto.Sindhu will face Chinese fifth seed Han Yue in the second round on Thursday, while Dhruv and Tanisha will take on top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping.
