Singapore Open 2023 Badminton: Priyanshu Rajawat and M.R. Arjun-Dhruv Kapila suffer defeat in the second round

India's disappointing run continued at the Singapore Open 2023 badminton tournament as Indian shuttlers Priyanshu Rajawat and the men's doubles pair of M.R. Arjun and Dhruv Kapila faced disappointment in the second round, exiting the competition after challenging encounters at the Singapore Indoor Arena on Thursday.

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Priyanshu Rajawat, ranked 37 in the world, known for his rising talent and promising performances, unfortunately fell short in the second round of the Singapore Open 2023. Despite showcasing his skills and putting up a valiant effort, Rajawat was unable to overcome his formidable opponent, Kodai Naraoka of Japan 21-17, 21-16 in 47 minutes. Earlier, Naraoka defeated another Indian star shuttler, H.S. Prannoy in the first round.

Meanwhile, in the men's doubles category, M.R. Arjun and Dhruv Kapila faced a stern test in the second round of the Singapore Open 2023. They suffered a narrow defeat to England’s Ben Lane-Sean Vendy 21-15, 21-19 in 41 minutes.

Later today, Kidambi Srikanth will play Chia Hao Lee in the Singapore Open 2023 badminton pre-quarterfinal. That leaves former World No.1 Kidambi Srikanth as the lone Indian still in the fray in the Singapore Open 2023 badminton tournament. Earlier, Srikanth defeated Thailand's Kantaphon Wangcharoen in the first round.

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However, India's top singles players, two-time Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu, Malaysia Masters winner H.S. Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, had crashed out in the first round itself. On Wednesday, the top doubles pairs, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, ranked 11th in the world in the latest list, and Commonwealth women's doubles bronze medallists, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand were also ousted in the Singapore Open 2023 badminton first round.

Satwik and Chirag, seeded fifth in that event, went down in three games to Japan's Akira Koga and Taichi Saito 18-21, 21-14, 18-21 in just over an hour. While, Treesa and Gayatri also put up a tough fight in the tournament. But they could not get the better of Hong Kong's Ting Yeung Nga and Lam Yeung Pui, 14-21, 21-18, 19-21 in a 66-minute encounter.