Lakshya Sen, who climbed to a career-best world No 8 in the BWF world rankings last week, beat Tokyo Olympics bronze-medallist Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia 21-16, 21-12 in his men’s singles campaign opener.
The 21-year old Lakshya set the tone early on and took full advantage as Ginting, the world No 6, struggled to find his range on the day. Despite a late hiccup, the Indian badminton player took the opening game.
He was more ruthless in the second game and it reflected on the scoreline as he extended his head-to-head record against Ginting to 3-0.
Lakshya will either face compatriot HS Prannoy or China’s Zhao Jun Peng in the next round.
On the other hand, World championships bronze-medallists Chirag Shetty and Satwikrairaj Rankireddy played some attacking badminton to beat South Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae 21-15, 21-19.
The Indian pair, seeded seventh, will now face a tough encounter against reigning All England Open champions Muhammad Fikri and Bagas Maulana of Indonesia in the next round.
Meanwhile, former world No 1 Saina Nehwal bowed out of the Denmark Open 2022 women’s singles event after a hard-fought 17-21, 21-19, 11-21 loss to Zhang Yi Man of China.
After losing the first game, Saina fought back in the second and had as many as four game points before finally forcing a decider. However, the London 2012 Olympic medallist ran out of steam as Zhang Yi Man took back control in the third game and completed a fine victory.
This is the third straight tournament where Saina has been knocked out in the opening round.
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