Denmark Open: Lakshya Sen shocks World no.2 star to roar into quarterfinal, Satwik-Chirag advance too

Indian shuttlers' impressive run at the Denmark Open continued on October 16 as they notched crucial wins across both the singles and doubles categories.

Lakshya Sen upsets Anders Antonsen

In one of his finest performances of the season, Lakshya Sen produced a clinical masterclass to upset second seed and home favourite, Anders Antonsen of Denmark, in straight games. The 23-year-old Indian looked in control from start to finish, expertly mixing sharp attacking play with rock-solid defence to silence the world No. 3. Sen ultimately sealed his spot in the men's singles quarterfinals with a decisive 21-13, 21-14 victory, utilising his trademark net precision and quick footwork.

Satwik-Chirag prevail

India’s top men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, also advanced to the doubles quarterfinals. Despite the straight-sets result, their victory over Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan of Chinese Taipei was a hard-fought battle. The world No. 1 Indian duo had to dig deep in both games, closing out a tense 21-19, 21-17 contest to keep their title defence alive in the tournament.

ALSO READ: IND vs SA: South Africa A squads for Test and ODI series against India announced, Temba Bavuma included

Talking about Lakshya's match, in the first game against Antonsen, he was completely dominant, giving his Danish opponent no opportunity to stage a comeback and sealing a decisive 21-13 victory. Although Antonsen attempted a tough fight in the early minutes of the second game, the Indian shuttler maintained his composure and made no errors, securing the second game 21-14 to wrap up the match.

Sen’s run began earlier on October 15, when he had to battle past Irish player Nhat Nguyen to confirm his Round of 16 spot. In that thrilling Round of 32 contest, Nguyen initially showed class and dominance, taking the first game 21-10. However, Lakshya Sen made a solid comeback to win the second and third games, finishing the match with a scoreline of 21-10, 8-21, 18-21 in his favor. Currently, Lakshya Sen is the only Indian still competing in the Men's Singles category at the Denmark Open. Earlier in the tournament, Ayush Shetty was defeated 21-19, 17-21, 21-15 by the French player Toma Junior Popov. Despite Popov's lack of consistency during the match, Ayush was unable to capitalize on the opportunity and was eliminated.