Kidambi Srikanth claimed victory over world no.4 Lee Zii Jia at Japan Open 2022.

Badminton General

Kidambi Srikanth claimed victory over world no.4 Lee Zii Jia at Japan Open 2022.

In the opening round of Japan Open 2022 Super 750 tournament, Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth claimed sensational straight-game victory over world no.4 Lee Zii Jia and sailed into the second round in Osaka.

Former world number one Srikanth defeated fifth seed Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in straight games (22-20, 23-21) in the men's singles first round match on court 3 at the Maruzen Intec Arena Osaka in Osaka, Japan. It was Srikanth's first win over the Malaysian in four meetings.

The 29-year-old, Srikanth will next face Japan's Kanta Tsuneyama in the round of 16 on Thursday (September 1).

The Birmingham CWG gold medalist Lakshya Sen suffered a shock defeat against Kenta Nishimoto of Japan by (21-18, 14-21, 13-21) in the men's singles first round match.