 "Koki Watanabe Lee Cheuk Yiu")
The India Open 2024 continued to throw surprises on the third day as three seeded players in the men's singles crashed out of the second round. World Champion and defending India Open winner from Thailand, Kunlavut Vitidsarn, lost a three-set thriller to Lee Cheuk Yiu, while All England winner from 2023, China's Li Shi Feng, also lost in three sets to Japan's Koki Watanabe.
Fourth seed Jonathan Christie was the last one to go down in the men's singles against a lower-ranked opponent, Lee Zii Jia. Christie lost in straight sets.
Lee Cheuk Yiu continues on his merry ways
Yiu of Hong Kong is having a tournament to remember. After taking out India's favourite, Kidambi Srikanth, in the first round, the 27-year-old beat the world champion in a three-setter.
Vitidsarn, who had earlier complained of suffering from mental fatigue and performance pressure after the high of the world championship win, was leading in the second set 21-6, before faltering and losing 22-20 eventually.
The third set was a close affair too, but it was Vitidsarn who was trailing this time around. From being 19-17 down, he stretched the match to 21 all after saving four game points. However, it wasn't to be for the defending champ as he lost the set 21-23 and thereby the match.
Speaking in the mixed zone after his match, Vitidsarn said, “Today it wasn't a good performance from me. In the last game, there was pressure and I couldn't control things.” The world number eight further said that he is looking to learn from every tournament in the Olympic year.
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Watanabe’s change in strategy sends him to quarters
Watanabe, who won the Swiss Masters and made it to the final of the Korea Masters last year, looks set to achieve his best-ever results at a Super 750 tournament after he beat the All-England 2023 champion Feng in a three-setter 21-14, 13-21, and 21-9 to move to the quarterfinals. The world number 24 Japanese had earlier beaten Lee Chia Hao of Taiwan in a three-setter as well.
Speaking after the win, Watanabe, who will face another Chinese, Shi Y Qui, in the quarterfinal, said that he changed his strategy in the mid-game, “Because of his tall height, I decided to start moving very fast on the court and place my shot between his legs which will make it difficult for him to return. In the third game, he was competing well but I did my best to win the game."
Zii Jia gets the better of Christie
Jia was brilliant in his manner and soaked up all the cheering from the stands. The crowd at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall has been extra supportive of the players from Indonesia and Malaysia and it was evident in this duel as well.
However, the match did not live up to the billing in the sense that the world number 10 from Malaysia beat the world number 5 from Indonesia in straight sets 21-15, 21-13.
“I think we have played each other a lot. He is number two in Asia so beating him always feels great. Although I believe there will always be a winner and a loser,” Jia said in the mixed zone after the match.
Talking about the start of his year, the world number 10, who won, said, “I think it is a good start for me. Maybe I was very focused and worked exactly according to the strategy prepared by the coach,” the 25-year-old said while talking about his strategy. He will face the winner of the all-Japanese affair between unseeded Takuma Obayashi and number two seed Kodai Naraoka.
