Paris (The Hawk): Lakshya Sen, the champion of the Commonwealth Games, was eliminated early from the French Open 2022 BWF Super 750 competition after falling to fellow Indian Kidambi Srikanth in the first round of the men's singles competition on Wednesday.
Lakshya Sen was defeated by former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth 21-18, 21-18, improving his head-to-head record to 2-0. The BWF World Championships 2021 semifinal match between the two Indian athletes was infamous, and Srikanth prevailed 21-17, 14-21, 17-21.
Kidambi Srikanth, who is now ranked No. 11 in the world in badminton, took control of the match right away and quickly built a commanding 18-12 lead. However, Lakshya Sen turned it into a game and levelled himself at 18-18.
Kidambi Srikanth's experience shined through as he assured himself a lead with a late flurry, just when it appeared the momentum might have switched.
Lakshya Sen attempted to tie the game by being more aggressive in the opening stages of the second game, but veteran Srikanth made sure he stayed on his young compatriot's heels.
Lakshya Sen, 21, eventually buckled under strain as Srikanth, who is eight years Lakshya's senior, raced at the perfect time and won the game in 46 minutes.
In the second round, Kidambi Srikanth will take on either Rasmus Gemke of Denmark or Nhat Nguyen of Ireland.
But Sameer Verma delivered the unexpected outcome of the day. The 31st-ranked Indian shuttler outplayed the current No. 6 player in the world and bronze medalist at Tokyo 2020, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, of Indonesia.
Sameer Verma defeated the opponent who had eliminated him from the Swiss Open earlier this year in a nail-biting match by the scores of 21-15, 21-23, and 22-20.
The last win came at the 2016 All England Open, marking the Indian's second triumph against the Indonesian ace in four encounters.
Next up for Sameer Verma will be Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn, ranked 10th in the world.
HS Prannoy, who is now ranked first in the BWF World Tour Finals 2022 rankings, advanced as well after defeating Malaysia's Liew Daren in another three-game match 21-16, 16-21, 21-16. The Indian shuttler's next challenge will come from China's Lu Guang Zu.
After losing to Indonesia's Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, the tournament's fifth seeds and two-time bronze medalists from the world championships, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila's men's doubles run came to an early stop.
(Inputs from Agencies)