India Open 2026: Lakshya Sen's dream run ends as curtains fall on India’s campaign
(Courtesy : Badminton Photo)
Lakshya Sen lost to Lin Chun-Yi 17-21, 21-13, 21-18 in a tightly contested match that lasted 68 minutes.
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, at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi 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.
“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 a 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, 21-12 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:
Men’s singles:
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.
Men’s doubles:
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;
Women’s singles:
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
Women’s doubles:
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
Mixed doubles:
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.
What happened to Lakshya Sen at the India Open 2026?
Lakshya Sen was knocked out in the men’s singles quarterfinals after losing a close three-game match to Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-Yi at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.
What was the scoreline of Lakshya Sen vs Lin Chun-Yi?
Sen lost 17-21, 21-13, 21-18 in a tightly contested match that lasted 68 minutes.
Did Lakshya Sen win a game in the match?
Yes. Sen won the opening game by using a strong net-focused strategy, but struggled after the change of ends as conditions shifted.
What factors affected Lakshya Sen’s performance?
Sen cited windy conditions inside the stadium and difficulty adjusting after switching sides. He also admitted to making errors at the net under pressure.
What did Lakshya Sen say after the loss?
Sen said the third game became a pressure battle and acknowledged that Lin adapted better to the conditions, particularly the wind.
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Alex graduated in mass communication in 2016 and has been covering global sports for Khel Now since then. He is covering sports tech, igaming, sports betting and casino domain from 2017.