Thamonwan nithiittikrai

Yeo Jia Min: India’s campaign at the Thailand Open, a BWF Super 500 tournament, got off to a mixed start on Wednesday, as top men’s singles shuttler Lakshya Sen bowed out in the opening round, while Aakarshi Kashyap and Unnati Hooda battled their way into the second round after hard-fought victories in women’s singles.

In one of the biggest surprises of the day, Lakshya Sen was ousted by Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen in a three-game encounter that lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes. Sen, ranked among India’s top badminton talents, went down 18-21, 21-9, 17-21 in a match that saw momentum swings.

After narrowly losing the opening game, Sen responded with a dominating performance in the second, unleashing sharp smashes and fast-paced rallies to level the match. But Nguyen dug deep in the decider, pulling ahead 17-13 and holding his composure in the pressure moments to complete the upset and move into the second round.