birmingham, 3 March. India’s ace shuttler Lakshya Sen displayed his mental strength and physical strength on Tuesday and stunned current world number one and defending champion Chinese star Shi Yuqi in the first round of the All England Open Badminton Championship.
World number one Xi defeated in a three-game struggle that lasted 78 minutes
In the third match of the day played on court number one of Utilita Arena, world number 12 Lakshya won 23-21, 19-21, 21-17 in a 78-minute dilemma that lasted three games. He defeated Yuki of the world for the first time in an individual match. However, this was his second win in six meetings with the Chinese star. Lakshya had achieved his first win in the Asian Games team championship in 2023.
What a match! #BWFWorldTour #AllEngland2026 pic.twitter.com/NvzrRnstnE
— BWF (@bwfmedia) March 3, 2026
Coach Vimal Kumar said, ‘Lakshya was very calm and stable today. From the beginning he made Shi Yuqi work hard for every point and eventually the Chinese player started tiring. At one point in the second game I felt Lakshya was getting a bit tired, but he recovered from it well and improved his level. His attacking game was also very good. Overall, it was a confidence-boosting victory.
In the first game, Lakshya lost four game points at 20-20.
24-year-old shuttler Lakshya from Uttarakhand made a bright start and took an 11-7 lead at the break. They made it 17-12, but Shi Yuqi made a strong comeback and saved three game points to level the score at 20-20. Lakshya also lost the fourth game point. However, the Chinese player gave the target the fifth game point by entangling a backhand shot at the net. The Indian player then won the game with a cross court smash.
The second game also saw a tough fight between the two players, but Shi Yuqi won it 21-19 and dragged the match into the third and deciding game. After the score was tied at 6-6 in the decider, Shi Yuqi took the lead briefly, but managed to take an 11-9 lead at the break. The Indian star increased this lead to 16-11 and then went ahead 18-14 with a smash. Lakshya hit a brilliant winner to take the lead 19-16 and then secured four match points. Shi Yuqi saved a match point, but then gave the match to the Indian player by hitting a shot outside.
Unnati and Malviko had to face defeat from seeded shuttlers
Talking about Indian representation in other matches, in women’s singles, world number 27 Unnati Hooda had to lose to eighth seeded Thai star Pornwapi Chochuwang 12-21, 18-21 in 44 minutes on court number one. On court number four, world number 52 Malvika Bansod lost against third seed Chen Yu Fei of China 11-21, 6-21 in just 30 minutes.
Dhruv and Tanisha started with victory in mixed doubles.
On court number four itself, the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto defeated the Malaysian team of Hu Peng Ron and Cheng Su Yin 21-17, 21-19 in 41 minutes and made it to the last 16.
PV Sindhu had to return home from Dubai airport
It is noteworthy that top Indian shuttler and former world number one PV Sindhu was also to participate in the women’s singles, but due to the closure of airspace in the Middle East amid the ongoing joint air strikes on Iran by Israel and America, she remained stranded at Dubai airport and finally returned home with great difficulty on Tuesday.
Chirag and Satwiksairaj will play their first match on Wednesday
Meanwhile, in men’s singles, fourth seeds Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will start their campaign on Wednesday. In the round of last 32, the Indian pair will face Malaysians Kang Khai Xing and Aaron Tai.
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