Lakshya Sen Upset in Thailand Open; Young Talents Shine
Star Indian badminton player Lakshya Sen faced a surprising loss in the first round of the Thailand Open Super 500 tournament. However, fellow Indian players Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap, and Unnati Hooda moved forward to the second round with hard-earned wins.
In women’s doubles, the top-ranked Indian pair of Tressa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand had a solid start, defeating Malaysia’s Ong XY and C Ting with scores of 21-15, 21-13. The duo, who missed the recent Sudirman Cup due to injuries, will next compete against Japan’s Rui Hirokami and Sayaka Hobara.
Lakshya Sen, who won a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships, battled hard but ultimately lost to Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen in three games, with scores of 18-21, 21-9, and 17-21. After losing the first game, Sen showcased impressive plays in the second, but Nguyen regained control in the final moments to clinch the match.
Another Indian player, Priyanshu Rajawat, also exited the tournament early, losing to Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan with scores of 13-21, 21-17, and 16-21.
In women’s singles, the 23rd-ranked Malvika advanced by defeating Turkey’s Neslihan Arin, winning the match 21-12, 13-21, and 21-17. She will face former world champion Ratchanok Intanon in the next round.
Aakarshi had a nail-biting match against Japan’s Kaoru Sugiyama, winning with scores of 21-16, 20-22, and 22-20, while 17-year-old Unnati Hooda managed to pull through against Thailand’s Thamonwan Nithiittikrai, clinching the match 21-14, 18-21, 23-21. Unnati is set to take on top seed Thai player Pornpawee Chochuwong next.
Unfortunately, it was the end of the road for Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj, who fell 18-21, 7-21 to eighth seed Yeo Jia Min from Singapore. Former national champion Anupama Upadhyaya, part of India’s Sudirman Cup team, also suffered a defeat, losing to Ratchanok Intanon with a score of 11-21, 9-21.
In the doubles events, the Indian women’s pair of K. Selvam and S. Singhi, as well as the men’s pair of P. Krishnamurthy Roy and S. Pratheek K., were eliminated in the opening round. Meanwhile, national Games gold medalist Tharun Mannepalli is scheduled to face Malaysia’s Justin Hoh later in the competition.
