An inconsistent Lakshya Sen struggled in his first match. HS Prannoy had a terrible start to the season-opening Malaysia Super 100 badminton competition. His opener against Canada’s Brian Yang was called off midway due to a leaky ceiling at the Axiata Arena on Tuesday. Lakshya, who had just won the Syed Modi International in Lucknow and finished third in the King Cup International.
The 23-year-old was unable to reproduce his recent form and lost 14-21, 7-21 to Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu-jen. The Indian shuttler’s game was plagued with unforced errors, giving him little chance against the 27-year-old. The initial game started evenly, with both players tied at 6-6. Yu Jen, on the other hand, capitalised on a vital cross-court smash during a long rally and went into the halftime break.
With a three-point lead at 11-8, thanks to a mistake by Lakshya Sen. After the break, Lakshya’s inaccuracy became apparent as a succession of unforced errors allowed Yu Jen to extend his advantage to 13-9. The initial game slipped away from Lakshya when he made three straight blunders, gifting it to his opponent. Lakshya’s problems worsened in the second game, as she fell behind 1-8 early.
Sen Running Out of Excuses
By halftime, he trailed 4-11 and continued to struggle as Yu Jen pulled ahead to 19-7. His downward spiral continued as Yu Jen pulled ahead to 19-7, two points away from victory. Lakshya’s netted shot gave his opponent 13 match points, and Yu Jen sealed the victory with a powerful cross-court smash. In the other game, HS Prannoy returned to action after the Paris Olympics.
He was up 21-12, 6-3 when rain began to seep through the roof. Causing play to be halted on Court 3 approximately 25 minutes in. After a more than an hour delay, play resumed around 4:15 PM. However, the match was suspended again due to the leak. Yang was leading 11-9 in the second game when officials called off the match, which will now resume on Wednesday with the score 21-12, 9-11.
