Indonesia Masters 2024 Day 2 Results: Kiran George enters the quarterfinals, Lakshya Sen and Priyanshu Rajawat bow out
The second day of the main draw of the Indonesia Masters 2024 saw all Indian shuttlers except Kiran George end their campaign at the tournament. India’s leading shuttlers, HS Prannoy, and Kidambi Srikanth, ended their campaign on Day 1 after going down to Loh Kean Yew and Lee Jii Zia, respectively.
The second day witnessed Lakshya Sen and Priyanshu Rajawat go down to Anders Antonsen and Brian Yang in their respective matches. Meanwhile, World No. 36 Kiran Geroge won a thrilling three-set battle against China’s Lu Guang Zu to secure his place in the quarterfinals.
A closer look at the Indonesia Masters 2024 Day 2 results
World No. 19, Lakshya Sen, who started the year looking to improve his ranking and secure a place at the Paris Olympics, couldn't overcome his poor form. The 22-year-old slipped from the 16th spot to the 19th in the recently updated rankings.
In his second-round encounter against higher-ranked World No. 7 from Denmark, Anders Antonsen, Sen went down in straight sets. Despite playing some incredible rallies and deceptive shots, the Indian shuttler lost the first game 19-21.
The second game also went down to the wire, but the Indian shuttler was on the wrong side of things this time too, losing with a score of 18-21. The final score of the match, which lasted just over an hour, was 19-21, 18-21.
In another men’s singles match, Priyanshu Rajawat faced Canada’s Brian Yang in the second round. The World No. 30 from India started the match with an early lead but the Canadian shuttler fought back and leveled terms.
After the mid-game interval, things were neck and neck right up until 18-18. With the score level, Yang managed to take three consecutive points to seal the set 18-21. The second set saw a similar beginning as the first one. But after 4-4, Yang took the lead and maintained it right to the end, winning the game 14-21. He wrapped up the match in forty-two minutes.
Meanwhile, India’s only positive news came in the form of Kiran George. The 23-year-old shuttler took on China’s Lu Guang Zu in his second-round match. The thrilling three-set battle saw George win the first set 21-11. Zu kept his composure and fought back, taking the next game, 21-13, and taking the match to the decider.
The third and final game saw a nail-biting set of rallies take place, with scores level at 18-18. George held on to his nerves and took the next three points to seal the set and win the match. The final score of the match was 21-11, 13-21, 21-18 in favor of India’s Kiran George.
Kiran George will now take on Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the quarterfinals on Friday, January 26.