Yokohama. Indonesia's men’s singles player Anthony Sinisuka Ginting was forced to withdraw from the 2024 Japan Open after sustaining an injury during his match against Yushi Tanaka in the round of 32 on Tuesday.

Playing on Court 1 at Yokohama Arena, Ginting was on the court for only 27 minutes. He lost the first game 12-21. In the second game, trailing 4-5, Ginting was unable to continue due to the injury.

As a result, Ginting failed to secure a spot in the round of 16, while Tanaka advanced to face South Korea’s Jeon Hyeok Jin, who defeated Taiwan’s Chi Yu Jen.

Ginting revealed that he had been trying to play normally since the first game. He had watched videos of his opponent’s previous matches to prepare.

"However, after the interval in the first game, I landed poorly after a jump, and my left ankle started to hurt. I’ve had a history of injuries in that area, and it wasn’t feeling right during warm-up either," Ginting explained.

Despite the pain, Ginting pushed through the first game. "But I was worried it might get worse. In the second game, after a few points, the pain in my ankle increased, so I decided to withdraw. Now, I will focus on recovery," said the shuttler from Cimahi, West Java.

Ginting recently competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he was eliminated in the group stage. He was in Group H with French player Toma Popov Junior and Howard Shu from the United States. Ginting failed to progress to the next round after finishing second in the group, losing to Toma Popov Junior 19-21, 21-17, 15-21.

Meanwhile, in another match at the 2024 Japan Open on Tuesday, men’s doubles pair Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto successfully advanced to the round of 16 after defeating China’s Xie Hao Nan and Zeng Wei Han 22-20, 13-21, 21-14.