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India Open: Lakshya tames friend Ayush, enters second round
Lakshya Sen confidently won his first match at the BWF India Open, showcasing strong skills and momentum from recent successes.
NEW DELHI: There was a certain sense of confidence that Lakshya Sen exuded on Day 1 of the $950,000 BWF India Open here on Tuesday.
The way he stepped on to the court at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, the way he struck the shuttle and the way in which he successfully challenged the umpire’s decisions showed that India’s No.1 men’s singles player had total conviction in what he was doing.
But not without reason. After struggling for most of 2025, the 24-year-old came into his own in the second half of the year by reaching the semis of Japan Open and the final of Hong Kong Open before finally ending his title drought in November when he won the Australian Open in Sydney.
The world No.14 has carried that momentum into the New Year which was clearly visible in his game in the first round of the Super 750 tournament. Up against friend and academy mate Ayush Shetty – someone who knows his game inside out – Lakshya didn’t let his rival settle down, attacking his compatriot from the word go to race to a 7-1 lead.
A gifted defensive player, Lakshya pre-empted Ayush’s shots, killing the bird early at the net. The senior pro gave no chance to Ayush, who, playing his first home Open, was caught off guard at the start. He had no answer to Lakshya’s aggressive performance as the reigning Commonwealth Games champion ran up a 11-4 lead.
Not much changed after the break as Lakshya continued his onslaught, stretching the lead to 17-6. By now Ayush had settled down and started moving better. He approached the net a little more to earn six straight points, but the gap was too big. Cheered by a small crowd, Lakshya forced Ayush to commit more errors and closed out the first game.
There was no courtside coaching – it being an all-India contest – and Ayush was talking to himself, boosting himself before the second game began. It seemed to have worked as it was the 20-year-old, who won the US Open last June, who came out all guns blazing to take a 5-1 lead.
But Lakshya wasn’t worried. He started playing the patient game with deceptive smashes and cross court drops that flummoxed Ayush, helping Lakshya to fight his way back. He started pushing Ayush to the back court and employed his drop shots to take the lead which he never surrendered.
“I’m happy with the way I played. The conditions were a little bit tricky as it was the first match in this stadium. I didn’t expect it to be too tricky. We thought the hall was big so the shuttle might travel a little bit slower. But it was quick and there was a little bit of a drift sideways so you had to adapt to the stadium,” said Lakshya.
“There was a little bit of wind from both the sides. So, in the second game it took me some time to adjust to that draft. Because it was a little bit faster, it was important to be very quick on the feet. I was trying to be very aggressive on the points. It was hard to get a good lift and length. We were just trying to play with a bit more pace and try not to give an opening to each other.”
This is going to be an important year as it has the home World Championships in Delhi and the Asian Games. Asked about his targets for 2026, Laskhya said: “We have big tournaments coming up. It will be important to maintain a good ranking but also peak at the right time for the big ones. In the training plan for the year we have to skip a few tournaments to get good practice so that when we have big tournaments like Asian Games and World Championships, we are better prepared.”
Seeds knocked out
Men’s singles fourth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei, seventh seed Kodai Naroaka of Japan and French sixth seed Alex Lanier were knocked out on the opening day. Canada’s Brian Yang packed off Chou 21-19, 21-11, Chi Yu Jen of Chinese Taipei upset Lanier 21-17, 21-19 and Naraoka retired against compatriot Kenta Nishimoto while trailing 6-21, 5-7.
In men’s doubles, third seeds Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy received a walkover after USA’s Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith withdrew.
