Lakshya Sen on Wednesday lost out in the second round of the Arctic Open 300 in three games. Despite starting excellently in the match, the World No. 19 Indian lost 21-19, 18-21, 15-21 against Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen. This loss for Sen also marks the end of India’s singles campaign in the tournament.
Lakshya Sen Shines in Arctic Open
The match started well for Lakshya Sen as he raced to an 11-7 lead in the first game. At one point, Chou did make a comeback at 15-15, but that was not enough for him to make a difference. The Indian pocketed the game 21-19. Come the second, Lakshya moved well around the court against the World No. 10, and took a 12-9 lead. But then, Chou finished the game 18-21.
Lakshya Sen, as is the case with him in most lost matches, did not manage to keep up the intensity. The third game was one-sided as Sen looked out of sorts and was beaten easily. It must be reminded, that the Indian is making a comeback to competitive badminton after his semis appearance in the Paris Olympics.
Other Indians Lose
Unfortunately, it was curtains for other Indian shuttlers in the fray. Kiran George lost to top seed, Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in straight games 17-21, 8-21. In the women’s singles, Malvika Bansod lost Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon 15-21, 8-21. Unnati Hooda, on the other hand, went down against Canada’s Michelle Li 10-21, 19-21. Li had also beaten Indian ace PV Sindhu in the first round in only 37 minutes earlier.
