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India’s Lakshya Sen suffered an early exit at the BWF World Championships on Monday, losing to top seed and world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi of China in straight games. The 24-year-old, a bronze medallist at the 2021 edition, went down 17-21, 19-21 in 54 minutes. Despite flashes of brilliance and his trademark attacking play, Sen could not find the breakthrough against Shi’s composed defence and sharp finishing. Coming into the tournament, Sen was keen to move past the disappointment of his fourth-place finish at last year’s Olympics. However, his challenge ended against an opponent in red-hot form. Shi has been unbeaten in nine finals this season and once again looked in complete control of his game. The result also stretched his head-to-head lead over the Indian to 4-1. The opening game was closely fought, highlighted by long rallies. A 47-shot exchange early on ended with Sen misjudging a line call, giving Shi a slight edge at 3-2. The Chinese soon built a 10-6 advantage with his smashes, but Sen recovered to draw level at 11-11. From there, Shi stepped up the pace, relentlessly targeting Sen’s backhand and sealing the first game 21-17 after the Indian pushed a return long. In the second game, Sen matched his opponent in the early exchanges and stayed level at 5-5. But once again, Shi’s variety in strokes and ability to finish with precision saw him move ahead 14-9. Sen’s fighting spirit kept him in contention as he narrowed the gap to 16-17 with aggressive play at the net.
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Just as a decider seemed possible, a couple of unforced errors swung the momentum back in Shi’s favour. Sen clawed to 18-19 but faltered in the final moments, hitting one shot into the net and another wide to concede the match. For Sen, it was another campaign that promised much but ended too soon, while Shi reinforced why he is currently the most dominant force in men’s singles badminton.
