China Masters: Lakshya Sen Ousted By Frenchman Toma Popov In Ro32

Sen’s defeat follows his recent silver medal performance at the Hong Kong Open, where he lost to Chinese shuttler Li Shi Feng in the men’s singles final. Feng defeated the Indian player 21-15, 21-12 in a match lasting just over 45 minutes, marking China’s historic clean sweep of all events in a tournament during the open era.

In the men’s doubles event, Indian badminton duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were beaten by the Chinese pair Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang. Weikeng and Chang came back from a game down to secure the title with a 19-21, 21-14, 21-17 victory over the esteemed Indian duo.

Satwik and Chirag started strong, winning the first game of the final 21-19 in a thrilling comeback. However, the Chinese pair leveled the match in the second game with a 21-14 win, forcing a decisive third set. In the final set, Chang and Weikeng clinched the title with a 21-17 victory.

Satwik and Chirag had reached their first final since May 2024, when they won the Thailand Open. They advanced to the final by defeating Chinese Taipei’s Chen Cheng Kuan and Lin Bing-wei 21-17, 21-15 in just 38 minutes during their first encounter.

The only barrier between them and the gold medal was the two-time Chinese sixth seeds Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, whom Satwik and Chirag had previously beaten in the last 16 at the World Championships. The Chinese duo seemed to have learned from their past mistakes, pushing the Indian pair to a tense opening game loss. They then leveled the match in the second set before claiming the title in the final game.

Despite their efforts to come back from a 6-point deficit in the final set, the Indian players could not overcome the Chinese pair, who maintained their lead and emerged victorious in Hong Kong.