Indian Commonwealth Games champion and Olympian Lakshya Sen advanced to the second round of the ongoing All England Open badminton tournament. On Tuesday, Lakshya beat Chinese Taipei’s Su Li-yang at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham by a score of 13-21, 21-17, 21-15 in an hour and 15 minutes, as per Olympics.com.
After losing the first game and trailing in the second by 7-11, the former All England finalist from two years ago staged a remarkable fightback, winning the next six successive points and taking the game to set up a captivating decider.
In the final game, both players pushed each other to their limits, with the scoreline reading 15-15 at one point. However, Lakshya held his nerve, and the 15th-ranked star won six consecutive points to defeat the world number 37.
In the other men’s singles matchup, HS Prannoy crashed out following a 19-21, 16-21 loss to France’s Toma Junior Popov in a 53-minute affair. In the first game, Prannoy took a 4-0 lead before the Frenchman earned his first point. During the mid-game break, Prannoy had a slight edge, leading 11-9, but Toma erased the deficit to win the first game.
From then on, there was no stopping Toma, who was more comfortable in the second game and closed out the match without any hiccups.
In the women’s competition, Malvika Bansod moved to the round of 16, defeating Singapore’s Yeo Jia Min in an hour and three minutes in a well-fought contest. The 28th-ranked Indian stunned the world number 12 with a 21-13, 10-21, 21-17 scoreline to move into the next round.
In the mixed doubles action, Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath crashed out in the first round after a 21-6, 21-15 defeat against China’s Guo Xin Wa and Chen Fang Hui.
PV Sindhu and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty begin their All England Open 2025 campaigns on Wednesday.
All England Open 2025 Badminton – India Day 1 Results
Men’s Singles:
– Toma Junior Popov (FRA) bt HS Prannoy 21-19, 21-16
– Lakshya Sen bt Su Li-yang (TPE) 13-21, 21-17, 21-15
Women’s Singles:
– Malvika Bansod bt Yeo Jia Min (SGP) 21-13, 10-21, 21-17
Women’s Doubles:
– Hsieh Pei-Shan/Hung En-Tzu (TPE) bt Tanisha Crasto/Ashwini Ponnappa 22-20, 21-18
Mixed Doubles:
– Guo Xin Wa/Chen Fang Hui (CHN) bt Sathish Kumar Karunakaran/Aadya Variyath 21-6, 21-15
