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Key Points

Lakshya Sen, one of India's prominent badminton players, experienced a surprising early exit at the Thailand Open against Ireland's Nhat Nguyen. Despite a commanding second game, Lakshya struggled to maintain momentum in a challenging decider. Meanwhile, Aakarshi Kashyap and young talent Unnati Hooda advanced to the second round after securing hard-fought victories in their respective matches. Kidambi Srikanth also faced disappointment, failing to progress past the qualifiers.

Key Points: Thailand Open Lakshya Falls Aakarshi Unnati Advance

  • Lakshya Sen exits after tough match against Nhat Nguyen
  • Aakarshi Kashyap triumphs in a nail-biter against Kaoru Sugiyama
  • Unnati Hooda overcomes local favorite in a intense three-gamer
  • Kidambi Srikanth fails to qualify for the main draw
2 min read

Thailand Open: Lakshya crashes out; Aakarshi, Unnati advance to second round

Lakshya Sen exits Thailand Open; Aakarshi Kashyap and Unnati Hooda progress to second round.

"Unnati saved match points to secure a thrilling win in extra points. - Source"

Bangkok, May 14

India's campaign at the Thailand Open, a BWF Super 500 tournament, got off to a mixed start on Wednesday, as top men's singles shuttler Lakshya Sen bowed out in the opening round, while Aakarshi Kashyap and Unnati Hooda battled their way into the second round after hard-fought victories in women's singles.

In one of the biggest surprises of the day, Lakshya Sen was ousted by Ireland's Nhat Nguyen in a three-game encounter that lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes. Sen, ranked among India's top badminton talents, went down 18-21, 21-9, 17-21 in a match that saw momentum swings.

After narrowly losing the opening game, Sen responded with a dominating performance in the second, unleashing sharp smashes and fast-paced rallies to level the match. But Nguyen dug deep in the decider, pulling ahead 17-13 and holding his composure in the pressure moments to complete the upset and move into the second round.

India's men's singles woes were compounded by Priyanshu Rajawat's exit, as he fell short in another three-game battle, losing 13-21, 21-17, 16-21 to Indonesia's Alwi Farhan.

Earlier, former world no.1 Kidambi Srikanth could not qualify for the main round of the Thailand Open 2025 badminton tournament after losing his second match in the qualifiers on Tuesday.

Srikanth, a world championships silver medallist, defeated Sankar Subramanian 21-15, 21-17 in his first round of qualifiers before losing to Tharun Mannepalli 21-16, 21-19 in the second.

In the women's singles, Aakarshi was engaged in a nail-biting thriller against Japan's Kaoru Sugiyama, eventually emerging victorious 21-16, 20-22, 22-20 in a roller-coaster clash. Unnati, one of the rising stars of Indian badminton, also impressed with her fighting spirit. The 17-year-old overcame local favourite Thamonwan Nithiittikrai 21-14, 18-21, 23-21.

After taking the first game comfortably, Unnati saw her opponent claw back in the second. But in the dramatic third game, the youngster saved match points before closing out a thrilling win in extra points.

The day, however, ended in disappointment for Rakshitha Ramraj, who faced a tough challenge against eighth seed Yeo Jia Min of Singapore. Rakshitha started positively, putting up a strong fight in the opening game, but eventually succumbed 18-21, 7-21.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

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Rahul K.
Really disappointing to see Lakshya Sen lose like this! He had such a strong second game but couldn't maintain momentum. Our men's singles performance is becoming a concern now. On the bright side, Unnati Hooda is showing great promise at just 17! 🇮🇳🏸 #Badminton
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Priya M.
Aakarshi's match was edge-of-the-seat stuff! 22-20 in the third game shows her mental strength. But we need to analyze why our players are struggling to close out matches consistently. The coaching staff should focus more on finishing games strongly.
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Arjun S.
Srikanth not even qualifying is shocking! He was world no.1 just a few years back. What's happening to our men's badminton? Meanwhile, the women are carrying the flag high. Unnati saving match points shows she's got that champion mentality. Future looks bright for her!
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Neha T.
Mixed bag for India today. While the losses hurt, we must appreciate how competitive our players are becoming internationally. Aakarshi and Unnati's wins against quality opponents prove that. Maybe we're expecting too much too soon from our shuttlers? Rome wasn't built in a day!
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Vikram J.
The inconsistency is frustrating yaar! One day they play like champions, next day they lose to lower ranked players. Need better mental conditioning coaches. But chalo, at least our women are performing well. Unnati is the next Sindhu in making! 💪
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Sunita R.
These young girls are making us proud! Aakarshi and Unnati showed so much grit. As for Lakshya, maybe he needs to work on his endurance. That third game collapse suggests fitness issues. Hope he bounces back stronger in next tournament.

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