Lakshya Sen Bows Out After Gritty Three-Game Battle At India Open Badminton

Lakshya Sen fought through a bruising three-game contest but fell short in the decisive moments to go down against Chinese Taipei's world No. 12 Lin Chun-Yi in the men's singles quarterfinals as the home challenge ended at the India Open Super 750 in New Delhi on Friday. The 24-year-old from Almora, who had won the Australian Open title last year, faltered at the finishing line to lose 21-17 13-21 18-21 to Lin in a high-intensity match that lasted 68 minutes. It was his fourth successive loss to the Taiwanese.

"I could have been a little more clinical towards the end. But credit to him, he played a really solid game," world No. 14 Lakshya, a 2021 world championships bronze medallist, said after the match.

"I think the third set, it was much more of a pressure game where both of us were trying to keep the attack. But again, the whole match, it was very close and it was important for me to finish off.

"Chun-Yi is a really good player and I think he was playing well today as well, according to the conditions. Both of us were trying to keep the attack and I think then he managed to win." The contest was a high-quality battle marked by long rallies and sharp exchanges at the net, with both players testing each other's patience and precision over three draining games.

Lakshya started strongly, engaging Lin in fast-paced rallies. The early phase saw the score locked from 4-4 to 7-7 before Lakshya edged ahead at the interval.

Two crisp winners took Lakshya to 13-10 and sustained pressure at the forecourt, aided by Lin's errors, helped him stretch the lead to 16-11. A 54-shot rally ended with Lin hitting long as Lakshya soon earned five game points and sealed the opening game on his third chance.

After the change of ends, the conditions made it difficult to control the shuttle and Lakshya struggled with his length, conceding an 11-5 deficit at the interval. A cross-court smash followed by a sharp return from the forecourt helped him close the gap to 7-12 as he repeatedly targeted Lin's backhand.

A deceptive serve forced Lin wide before another error made it 9-14, and an on-the-line smash further cut down the lead. However, the left-handed Taiwanese regained control, moving to 18-13 after a gruelling 56-shot rally. Lakshya missed the baseline repeatedly in the game, allowing Lin to level the match.

Lakshya, back on his preferred side, raced to a 4-0 lead in the decider. Lin opened his account with two jump smashes and stayed close as the scores moved to 8-6, with a fortunate net cord helping the Indian.

Lin clawed back to 9-9 with successive cross-court smashes before edging ahead briefly, only for Lakshya to regain momentum. After the final change of ends, Lin drew level at 12-12, but three consecutive errors allowed Lakshya to lead 15-12.

The scores were level again at 15-15 as Lin stepped up the attack. At 18-16 down, Lakshya produced a stunning behind-the-back shot to stay in the rally before finishing at the net, and then levelled with a body smash.

Lin responded with a strong return-to-serve to move two points away and earned match points when Lakshya found the net.

The contest ended when Lakshya slipped during a tense rally and sent back a weak return, which Lin put away to seal the match.

Lakshya, who struggled to control the shuttle in the second game, sending as many as nine shots long, admitted that the drift in the court played a part.

"I think in today's match, I was not prepared for the wind. There was a little bit more wind than yesterday so it took me some time to realise.

"I was a bit shaky from the net to lift the shuttle and I played so many errors just from the front. Apart from that, I think I could figure out in the third set and not give so many errors from that side," he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)