Lakshya Sen has reached his first men’s singles quarterfinal of a top BWF World Tour event in six months, while the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also advanced at the Hong Kong Open Super 500 badminton tournament. Their victories provide a major boost to the Indian contingent after a day of mixed results for other players.
Lakshya, ranked 20th in the world, secured his quarterfinal spot after a hard-fought battle against compatriot H.S. Prannoy. The match went three games, with Lakshya rallying from a first-game loss to win 15-21, 21-18, 21-10. The victory is significant for the 23-year-old, who has battled injuries and struggled with form since his fourth-place finish at the Paris Olympics.
The match between the two Indian shuttlers was a tight affair. Prannoy started strong, winning the first game and taking early leads in the next two. However, Lakshya found his rhythm in the second game, using a six-point burst to take control. In the decider, errors began to creep into Prannoy's game, and Lakshya capitalized on them to take a commanding lead and eventually seal the victory.
In the men’s doubles, the former world number one duo of Satwik and Chirag also had to fight for their place. The pair, fresh off their second World Championships bronze, bounced back from a first-game loss against Thailand's Peeratchai Sukphun and Pakkapon Teeraratsakul. They won the 63-minute battle with a score of 18-21, 21-15, 21-11, demonstrating their resilience and ability to turn a match around.
Lakshya will now face the winner of the match between Japan’s Kodai Naraoka and India’s Ayush Shetty in the quarterfinals. Satwik and Chirag will take on Malaysia's Junaidi Arif and Roy King Yap in their last-eight clash. Their advancement in the tournament is a positive sign for Indian badminton after the early exit of other key players, including P.V. Sindhu.
