Champion Lakshya Sen and Saina Nehwal did not work magic, disappointing start of India Open players

New Delhi: Defending champion Lakshya Sen suffered a loss to world number 20 Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament. World No. 12 Sen was unable to capitalize on an early lead at the IG Stadium here as he went down 21-16 15-21 18-21 to Gemke in a second round match that lasted one hour and 21 minutes. . Earlier, in men’s doubles, defending champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had to withdraw from the tournament. They took this decision because of Satwik’s hip injury.

Lakshya Sen was not seen in his rhythm

India’s Lakshya Sen at one point in the match collected some good smashes to take a 17-12 lead. Sen then got six game points, of which he won the first game on the third. Thereafter, however, Sen lost his cool and Gemke took the lead. The Danish player soon went ahead 14-10. Sen also protested for a point in between. However, Gemke didn’t look back and took the second game soon.

Sen committed some unforced errors in the third and deciding game, which Gemke took advantage of to take an 8-1 lead. The Indian tried to make a comeback amid huge cheers from the crowd and scored five consecutive points to take the score to 6-8. Gemke had taken a four-point lead at the interval. Sen made unforced errors after that as Gemke went ahead 14-8. The Indian, however, did not give up and soon made it 13-14. Sen continued to fight but Gemke came close to winning the match by taking an 18-15 lead. Gemke got two match points on which he did not show any error.

Saina also got defeated

London Olympics bronze medalist Saina Nehwal also had no match against Olympic champion Chen Yufei as she lost 9-21, 12-21 in just 32 minutes, ending India’s challenge in the tournament. Earlier in women’s doubles, Commonwealth Games bronze medalists Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly also crashed out in the pre-quarterfinals after losing 9-21, 16-21 to sixth seeds Zhang Shujian and Zheng Yue of China.

Men’s doubles pair of Krishna Prasad Garga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala also lost 14-21 10-21 to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in just 33 minutes. Sen was considered a favorite to win against Gemke. The Indian had earlier won both against Gemke. The Indian player, however, could not perform well in the crucial moments while the Danish player played well. Both the players played well in the beginning and at one stage the score was tied at 9-9.

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