Hylo Open 2025: Lakshya Sen, Kiran George, Ayush Shetty enter quarter-finals

Lakshya Sen made it to his fifth quarter-final of the season.

India’s campaign at the BWF Hylo Open 2025 in Germany is off to a flying start. On Day 3, Lakshya Sen, Kiran George, Rakshitha Ramesh, and Ayush Shetty all sealed brilliant wins to move into the quarter-finals and progress in their journey respectively keeping India’s hopes alive.

The 2019 Hylo Open champion Lakshya Sen continued his strong form and defeated his Indian compatriot S. Subramanian in straight games in the round of 16 match at the Saarlandhalle, An der Saarlandhalle 1.

The opening game was neck and neck early on, with both players locked at 3-3. But once Sen found his rhythm, there was no looking back. He mixed power and strategy beautifully, racing ahead to 12-6 before sealing the game 21-14.

The second game was pure domination from the World No. 17. Lakshya Sen came out swinging, taking an early 4-1 lead and never letting go of control. His sharp shot-making helped him wrap up the match 21-14, 21-11 without breaking a sweat.

This win takes Sen into his fifth quarterfinal of the year, though a title has just eluded him so far. He will now take on fourth seed Alex Lanier of France in what promises to be a cracking match.

The biggest cheer of the day, however, came from Kiran George, who pulled off a stunning upset against eighth seed Toma Junior Popov of France.

The 25-year-old Indian, ranked 38th in the world, showed incredible grit to fight back after losing the first game. In a tense 69-minute battle, he came from behind to win 18-21, 21-18, 21-19.

Even when he trailed 6-11 in the final game, Kiran refused to give in, turning the match around point by point and finally seal the victory. This is his first Super 500 quarterfinal appearance since the India Open earlier this year.

He now awaits the winner between Jonatan Christie (Indonesia) and Chi Yu Jen (Chinese Taipei) in the quarterfinals looking for the first semifinal spot of the year.

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On the other hand, the young Indian sensation Ayush Shetty produced one of the most eye-catching results of the tournament so far. The 21-year-old stunned former World Champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in straight games.

The BWF US Open 2025 winner Shetty dominated both games to win 21-11, 21-11 against the current world no.9 and booked his spot in the Super 500 event for the second time in 2025 so far.

In the women’s singles, it was an all-Indian battle between Rakshitha Ramesh and Shriyanshi Valishetty, where Rakshitha came out on top after a strong comeback win.

She dropped the first game 19-21 but bounced back in style to win the next two 21-8, 21-13. The match lasted 58 minutes. She’ll next face sixth seed Line Christophersen of Denmark in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, Unnati Hooda is set to play Julie Dawall Jakobsen in her round of 32 match, who edged past India’s Anmol Kharb in a close encounter that ended 26-24, 23-21.

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