It was mixed fortunes for Indian badminton at the Asian Games, with PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty advancing while Lakshya Sen crashed out.
Sindhu defeated Chinese Taipei's Chiu Pin-chian 21-19, 21-14 to enter the prequarterfinals. The two-time Olympic medallist will take on hosts Japan's Tomoka Miyazaki next.
Ayush Shetty bounced back from his average showing in the men's team event semifinal with a convincing 21-7, 21-7 win over Kazakhstan's Makhsut Tajibullayev in the second round.
Shetty will take on third-seeded Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei.
Meanwhile, Sen's race ended against former World Champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore, who prevailed 12-21, 21-15, 14-21.
India had suffered a shock in men's doubles a day before when former World No 1 pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bowed out.
The defending champions had fetched India's only badminton gold in the Asian Games at the previous edition at Hangzhou in 2023.
Sindhu had trailed Chui 10-11 in the first game before taking control of the proceedings to seal the game.
She did not permit her opponent to gain control in the next game, taking an 8-4 lead before increasing it to 15-10 and eventually taking the match.
