India Open: Lakshya Sen advances into quarters
Former champion Lakshya Sen produced a composed and tactical performance to progress to the quarterfinals of the $950,000 India Open Super 750 badminton tournament but Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy bowed out after a spirited show here on Thursday. The top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, one of the favourites to win the title, also exited after a heartbreaking 27-25 21-23 19-21 loss to Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita in the second round later in the day.
Sen, a 2021 world championships bronze medallist, showed resilience and maturity to overcame Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto 21-19, 21-11 in the second round to emerge as the only Indian challenge in singles at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. “At the start of the opening game I was struggling with my rhythm a bit and was lifting short and that allowed him to attack more. But then I started lifting the shuttle longer and focused on defending well and I think that turned the first game,” Lakshya told reporters.
“In the second game, I knew I could not give him the opportunity to keep playing his game, so mixed my speed and it worked.” The 24-year-old from Almora will next face Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-Yi, who defeated Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen 21-16, 21-17. Earlier, Srikanth fought hard but went down 21-14, 17-21, 21-17 to France’s Christo Popov, the reigning World Tour Finals champion.
Prannoy also pushed his opponent close before losing 18-21, 21-19, 21-14 to eighth seed Loh Kean Yew of Singapore. Malvika Bansod also went down 18-21 15-21 to China’s fifth seed Han Yue in a women’s singles match. India’s challenge in women’s doubles also ended when Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost 22-20 22-24 21-23 against seventh seeds Li Yijing and Luo Xumin of China in a marathon match that lasted 84 minutes.
Sen vs Nishimoto: Sen struggled initially with timing and depth, allowing Nishimoto to seize control and open up a 16-11 lead at the mid-game interval. Down 14-18, Sen showed great composure as he extended the rallies, retrieving fiercely, and forced errors from his opponent. A run of five consecutive points swung the momentum decisively, enabling Sen to close out the game at the first opportunity.
The second game was a one-sided affair as Sen raised his intensity. He mixed pace intelligently, alternated between sharp half-smashes and disguised drops, and denied Nishimoto any rhythm. With his defence holding firm and his shot selection precise, Sen sealed the contest in 50 minutes. India's Lakshya Sen returns to Japan's Kenta Nishimoto during the men's singles round of 16 match at the India Open 2026 badminton tournament, in New Delhi on Thursday
