BWF World Championship: Lakshya Sen makes early exit with a straight-game defeat

PARIS — Lakshya Sen’s poor run continued on Monday as the Indian shuttler lost in straight sets against World No.1 and reigning All-England champion Shi Yu Qi of China in the BWF World Championship. Sen’s campaign lasted a total of 54 minutes as he succumbed to a 17-21, 19-21 defeat, bringing an end to another disappointing campaign at the tournament, after having previously won the bronze medal in 2021.

After a tightly-contested match saw the scores tied at 11-11 in the opening game, Shi Yu, who is unbeaten in nine finals this season, took things in his grip and went on to secure a 21-17 win.

The Chinese shuttler flew out of the floodgates in the second game and was leading 14-9 at one stage, but a tough fightback by the 24-year-old Indian saw him crawl back before he gave up points while making unforced errors, eventually facing defeat.

For Sen, the World Championships at the Adidas Arena in the French capital trigger mixed emotions. It was here, a year ago, that, within sight of a career-defining opportunity, he faltered in the Olympic Games.

First, against Viktor Axelsen in the semifinals, and then in the bronze medal playoff against Lee Zii Jia – both matches in which he was playing sublime badminton before inexplicably losing momentum.

For the young Indian shuttler, the Paris Olympics were the high point, and he hasn’t been the same player since. Results at the higher tier of the BWF World Tour have stalled. His best performances have been at the Super 300 level – he won the Syed Modi International late last year and was in the semifinals of the Macau Open earlier this month. At the upper end of the World Tour, a quarterfinal at the All England aside, he has struggled to cross the early rounds of nine tournaments this year.

India's hopes in the men's singles now rest on H.S. Prannoy, who will start his campaign against Joakim Oldorff of Finland in the first round on Tuesday. If he wins the first round, Prannoy is scheduled to play second seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark in the second.