Malaysia Super 100 badminton: Lakshya crashes out

Kuala Lumpur: An inconsistent Lakshya Sen faltered in his opening match, while H S Prannoy endured a frustrating start to the season-opening Malaysia Super 100 badminton tournament as his opening match against Canada’s Brian Yang was suspended midway due to a leaking roof at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur .

Lakshya, coming off a title win at the Syed Modi International in Lucknow and a third-place finish at the King Cup International, failed to replicate his recent form and succumbed to Chi Yu-jen of Chinese Taipei, losing 14-21, 7-21.

The Indian shuttler’s game was riddled with unforced errors, leaving him with little chance against the 27-year-old.

Prannoy, returning to action after the Paris Olympics, was leading 21-12, 6-3 when rainwater began seeping through the roof, forcing play to be stopped on Court 3 about 25 minutes into the match.

Prannoy had raised the issue with the chair umpire after water started pooling on the left front section of the court. Organisers inspected the area, leading to the suspension of the match.

In bizarre scenes, organisers were seen using white towels to dry the courts.

Earlier in the day, India’s women’s doubles duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand easily overcame Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn and Sukitta Suwachai, beating the Thai pair in straight games in the opening round.

The Indian pair, seeded sixth, won 21-10, 21-10 in just 30 minutes to secure a place in the round of 16.

On a high following their success in the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament in Lucknow, Treesa and Gayatri faced little challenge from the unseeded Thai pair taking a 17-8 lead in no time.