New Delhi: Former champion Lakshya Sen relied on his strong defence and injection of pace to defeat Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto, while Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy’s inspired performances were not enough in the second round of the India Open 2026 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday.
Sen packed off Nishimoto 21-19, 21-11 to advance into the quarterfinals after Srikanth had gone down 21-14, 17-21, 21-17 against BWF World Tour Finals winner Christo Popov of France, and Prannoy lost to eighth seed Loh Kean Yew of Singapore 18-21, 21-19, 21-14.
India’s challenge in the women’s section of the BWF World Tour Super 750 event being organised by the Badminton Association of India also came to an end after the fifth-seeded Chinese Han Yue accounted for Malvika Bansod 21-18, 21-15.
The going was tough even for Sen in the initial stages of the first game against Nishimoto, as the Indian was struggling to find his rhythm and the length of his strokes. The Indian Oil employee trailed the Japanese 11-16 in the opening game and then 14-18, but kept on engaging his opponent in long rallies and came up with some brilliant defensive strokes to parry Nishimoto’s smashes to claw back.
He won five straight points to take the lead and then wrapped up the opening game on the very first opportunity. Sen was much more clinical in the second game, varying his pace and going for the kill whenever he found an opportunity. As he grew in confidence, the 24-year-old mixed his half smashes with clever reserve drops to keep his opponent guessing and sealed his quarterfinal spot in 50 minutes.
“At the start of the opening game, I was struggling with my rhythm a bit and was lifting short, which 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,” said Lakshya, who will next face Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-Yi, who defeated Nhat Nguyen of Ireland 21-16, 21-17.
“In the second game, I knew I could not give him the opportunity to keep playing his game, and so I mixed my speed, and it worked,” he added.
In the day’s other matches, Prannoy won the opening game against Loh and saved three game points in the second to come close to an upset win. But once the former world champion forced a decider, he raised the tempo of the match, and the Indian wasn’t able to match the strategic chance of his opponent.
Earlier, Srikanth also gave glimpses of his attacking abilities against Popov, but could not overcome the challenge of France’s first World Tour Finals men’s singles champion.
Important results:
Men’s singles: Lakshya Sen bt Kenta Nishimoto (Jpn) 21-19, 21-10; 5-Christo Popov (Fra) bt Kidambi Srikanth 21-14, 17-21, 21-17; 3-Jonatan Christie (Ina) bt Yushi Tanaka (Jpn) 21-15, 21-19; 8-Loh Kean Yew (Sin) bt HS Prannoy 18-21, 21-19, 21-14; 2-Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) bt Lu Guang Zu (Chn) 21-14, 21-16
Women’s singles: 1-AN Se Young (Kor) bt Huang Yu-Hsun (Tpe) 21-14, 21-9; 7-Ratchnok Intanon (Tha) bt Mia Blichfeldt (Den) 21-16, 21-11; 5-Han Yue (Chn) bt Malvika Bansod 21-18, 21-15; 4-Chen Yu Fei (Chn) bt Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Tha) 21-11, 21-13; Natsuki Nidaira (Jpn) bt 8-Tomoka Miyazaki (Jpn) 21-19, 8-21, 21-16.
(IANS)
