Lakshya Sen, India’s top-ranked male shuttler, lost in the first round of the BWF World Championships on Monday in Paris. He was beaten by Shi Yu Qi of China, who is the world No. 1 and top seed. Sen, who is 24 years old and earned a bronze medal in 2021, struggled for 54 minutes but couldn’t beat Shi’s strong play. He lost in straight games, 17-21 and 19-21.
Sen, who won a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships and made it to the semifinals of the Paris 2024 Olympics, came to the tournament looking to turn his season around. But he faced a tough opponent in Shi Yu Qi, who has been in great shape this year, winning nine finals since January 2024. Shi’s win gives him a 4-1 lead over Sen in head-to-head matches.
The Adidas Arena in Paris, which will host the Paris 2024 Olympics, was the site of the contest. It started with high-intensity rallies. The first game started with a 47-shot exchange that established the tone for the long, hard-fought match. Sen had some moments of his usual offensive brilliance, but he had a hard time getting past Shi’s strong defense and powerful finishing. The Chinese player kept hitting Sen’s backhand and utilized strong smashes to move ahead.
Sen was down 6-10 in the opening game, but he fought back to tie it up at 11-11. Shi immediately took back control, going up 14-11 and winning the game 21-17. The second game went in a similar way. Sen started off well, staying even with his opponent at 5-5. But Shi changed things up again, using a mix of smart slices and strong smashes, including a 414 km/h winner, to take the lead at 14-9.
Sen showed his usual fighting spirit by coming back from a 10-15 disadvantage to make it 16-17. At one point, it looked like he might have to play a tiebreaker, but two mistakes that weren’t his fault gave Shi a 19-16 lead. Sen’s campaign ended with two mistakes in a row, one going into the net and the other going wide, giving the top seed the win.
Now that Sen has left, the emphasis switches to other Indian players at the championships, such PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy, who are about to play their first matches.