Denmark Open: Lakshya loses to Naraoka in quarterfinals

Odense (Denmark): Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen suffered a straight game loss to Japan's Kodai Naraoka in the men's singles quarterfinals to bring down curtains on India's campaign at the Denmark Open Super 750 tournament here on Friday.

Lakshya, a 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, lost 17-21, 12-21 to Naraoka, a bronze medallist at the 2018 Youth Olympics.

The two have played thrice in the international circuit with the Japanese winning twice. Interestingly, it was Lakshya, who had defeated him in the 2018 Youth Olympics semifinals.

The 21-year-old Naraoka, however, proved to be a difficult customer on Friday as he produced a dominating performance to stay ahead for most part of the contest.

After opening up a 5-2 lead, Naraoka jumped to a 13-9 advantage at one stage. Lakshya had grabbed a slender 15-14 lead but the Japanese quickly moved ahead to earn the bragging rights.

Things went further downhill for Lakshya in the second game as Naraoka led 5-1 before swelling it to 11-3 at the interval.

Naraoka continued to dominate the proceedings to move to 13-6. Lakshya grabbed the next three points but Naraoka soon bounced back to shut the door on his rival.