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Lakshya Sen's India Open Run Ends in Thrilling Quarterfinal Defeat

Lakshya Sen's run at the India Open 2026 ended in the men's singles quarterfinals with a three-game loss to Taiwan's Lin Chun-Yi. After winning the first game, Sen struggled with court conditions and unforced errors, particularly from the net. Lin capitalized on his opponent's lifts and sealed the match with a strong finish in the decider. The defeat marks the end of Indian participation in the tournament's singles events.

Key Points: Lakshya Sen Loses in India Open 2026 Quarterfinals

  • Sen won first game but lost momentum
  • Lin Chun-Yi adapted better to conditions
  • Indian challenge ends at home tournament
  • Semifinals feature Loh Kean Yew vs. Jonatan Christie
  • Victor Lai advances to face Lin
4 min read

India Open: Lakshya Sen goes down in quarters as Indian challenge ends

Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen's campaign ends in a three-game quarterfinal loss to Lin Chun-Yi at the India Open 2026 Super 750 event in New Delhi.

"I was not prepared for the wind today. He adapted to the conditions better. - Lakshya Sen"

New Delhi, January 16

Indian Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen kept pace with Lin Chun-Yi till the very end but fell short in the final exchanges as he went down in three games to end the host's challenge in the India Open 2026, a Badminton World Federation World Super 750 event organised by Badminton Association of India, at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Friday.

Sen won the opening game against Lin but then struggled from the faster side of the court to go down 17-21, 21-13, 21-18 in the men's singles quarterfinals, as per a press release from BAI.

"It was a close match. The third set was more of a pressure game. He was playing well today as per the conditions. I was not prepared for the wind today. It was not that windy yesterday. He adapted to the conditions better," said Lakshya after the match.

"I was shaky at the net to lift the shuttle and multiple errors from the front," he added.

Going into the quarterfinal, Sen trailed Lin 0-4 in the head-to-head, and it was clear that the Indian needed to be at his best against the speedy left-hander.

His game plan was to keep Lin near the net in the opening game, the Taipei shuttler was playing from the faster side. And the strategy worked as Sen raced ahead after the mid-game interval to pocket the opening game.

But once he changed sides, Sen's lifts began to go long, and Lin was quick to pounce on shorter lifts and forced a decider.

In the third and final game, Sen began strong by clinching the first four points, but Lin then slowed things down and began dominating the net exchanges to keep pace with the local favourite till the change of ends. Once the players changed ends, Lin earned six straight points to take an 18-15 lead.

To his credit, Sen drew level at 18-18 before Lin stepped on the gas and opted for an all-out attack strategy to win the match in an hour and 8 minutes.

He will now face 2025 World Championships bronze medallist Victor Lai of Canada, who defeated Chinese Taipei's Chi Yu Jen 21-18, 17-21, 21-15.

In the other semifinal, former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore will face third seed Joantan Christie of Indonesia.

In the quarterfinals, Loh came from a game down to upset second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 14-21, 21-15, 21-17, while Christie defeated fifth seed Christo Popov of France 21-19, 21-19.

In women's singles, former champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand defeated Beiwen Zhang 21-16, 21-1,2 while top seed An Se Young easily got past Indonesia's Putri Kusuma Wardani 21-16, 21-8.

The other semifinal will be an all-Chinese affair between second seed Wang Zhi Yi and Chen Yu Fi.

Results: 3-Jonatan Christie (Ina) bt 5-Christo Popov 21-19, 21-19; 8-Loh Kean Yew (Sin) bt 2-Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) 14-21, 21-15, 21-17; Victor Lai (Can) bt CHi Yu Jen (Tpe) 21-18, 17-21, 21-15; Lin Chun-Yi (Tpe) bt Lakshya Sen 17-21, 21-13, 21-18.

2-Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik (Mas) bt Lee Jhe-Huei/Yang Po-Hsuan 21-19, 21-14; Victor Lai (Can) bt Chi Yu Jen (Tpe) 21-18, 17-21, 21-15;

2-Wang Zhi Yi (Chn) bt Natsuki Nidaira (Jpn) 20-22, 21-13, 21-9; 4-Chen Yu Fei (Chn) bt 5-Han Yue (Chn) 21-8, 21-18; 1-AN Se Young (Kor) bt 6-Putri Kusuma Wardani (Ina) 21-16, 21-8; 7-Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt Beiwen Zhang (USA) 21-16, 21-12

1-Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning (Chn) bt 7-Li Yi Jing/Luo Xu Min (Chn) 21-14, 21-15; 6-Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee (Kor) bt Hsu Ya Ching/Sung Yu-Hsuan (Tpe) 21-19, 21-9; 5-Yuki Fukshima/Mayu Matsumoto (Jpn) bt Jeong Na Eun/Lee Yeon Woo (Kor) 21-10, 21-10; 2-Pearly Tan/Thinaah Miuralitharan (Mas) bt 8-Hsieh Pei Shan/Hung En-Tzu (Tpe) 21-16, 21-10

1-Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping (Chn) bt 8-Goh Soon Huat/Lai Shevon Jemie 21-19, 19-21, 21-18; 3-Dechapol Purvaranukroh/Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) bt 5-Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue (Fra) 21-6, 21-15; 2-Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin (Chn) bt Yuichi Shimogami/Sayaka Hobara 25-23, 21-18; Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Boje (Den) bt 6-Guo Xin Wa/Chen Fang Hui (Chn) 21-13, 14-21, 21-11.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
It's disappointing that the Indian challenge ended so early at our own home tournament. The pressure of playing at home can be immense, but that's where mental conditioning comes in. The BAI needs to ensure our players get better support for handling these high-pressure situations.
R
Rohit P
Tough luck, bhai! 18-18 in the third and then Lin just pulled away. That's the difference at the top level - closing out matches. But kudos to Lakshya for his honesty about the wind and his net play. He'll come back stronger. On to the next one! 💪
S
Sarah B
Watching from Canada. It was a fantastic match! Victor Lai is through as well, so the semis will be interesting. Lakshya has incredible speed and skill. Just one of those days where the opponent adapted better. The future is bright for Indian badminton.
K
Karthik V
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Michael C
The head-to-head record was against him (0-4), so it was always going to be a mountain to climb. He showed great fight to take it to a decider. Sometimes you just run into a player who has your number. Hope he breaks the jinx next time.
N
Neha E
So close yet so far! The entire stadium must have

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