New Delhi: India’s Lakshya Sen suffered a shock second-round exit at the BWF Badminton World Championships 2026, going down to USA’s 18-year-old Garret Tan in a three-game thriller at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Sen, who was the 14th seed and had won a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships, won the first game but could not keep up his pace as Tan, the world No. 92, fought back to win 19-21, 21-19, 21-17 in their first appearance at the World Championships, the match lasting 73 minutes.
Lakshya managed to keep his composure in the closely fought first game, but the Chinese-American rookie Tan took control of the second from the beginning. Although the Indian star, who narrowly missed winning the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024, had four game points, he was unable to stop the American from forcing a deciding game.
In the last game, Tan kept bothering Lakshya with his reliable net play and powerful smashes. At the change of ends, the American had built up a lead of seven points, leaving Lakshya with a huge amount to make up.
However, the Indian shuttler responded brilliantly by scoring six consecutive points, which reduced the deficit to just two points, 10 to 12, and gave a new impetus to his challenge.
When Tan was leading 17-15, he received medical attention for a possible concussion. The pause seemed to disturb Lakshya’s flow, and the Indian was able to win only two of the next six points as the American secured a memorable win.
The defeat marks the end of Lakshya’s campaign at an early stage and leaves India with only Ayush Shetty as its remaining interest in the men’s singles section of the draw.
Earlier on Tuesday, Sen recovered from an early setback to launch his campaign with a 16-21, 21-8, 21-4 victory over Austria’s Collins Filimon. The Indian, seeded 14th, who needed 45 minutes to complete the comeback, found another gear after dropping the opening game and thereafter barely allowed his opponent into the contest.
(IANS)
