NEW DELHI, AUG 18 (IANS/PTI): India’s top men’s singles shuttler Lakshya Sen overcame a shaky start to launch his BWF World Championships campaign with a commanding comeback win over Austria’s Collins Filimon in the Round of 64. Seeded 14th, Sen prevailed 16-21, 21-8, 21-4 in 45 minutes at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.
Lakshya’s fightback
The opening game was tightly contested, with Filimon edging ahead 11-10 at the interval before capitalizing on Sen’s errors to clinch it 21-16. However, the Indian regrouped in the second game, breaking away from 6-6 with a four-point burst and steadily dominating rallies. He closed out the game 21-8 in 16 minutes.
The decider saw Sen at his aggressive best, racing to an 11-1 lead at the interval and conceding just four points in total. His relentless pace left Filimon struggling for answers as Sen sealed the match 21-4 in 14 minutes. The victory highlighted Sen’s resilience, as he conceded only 12 points across the final two games to secure his place in the next round.
Unnati Hooda’s winning debut
India’s rising star Unnati Hooda marked her maiden World Championships appearance with a straight-games victory over Myanmar’s Thet Htar Thuzar. Hooda edged a tense first game 22-20 before unleashing an aggressive spell in the second, racing to an 11-1 lead. Though Thuzar fought back, Hooda held firm to close the match 21-16 in 40 minutes. She will next face 13th seed Michelle Li of Canada, who defeated P. Chiu of Chinese Taipei.
Mixed doubles setback
India’s mixed doubles duo Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde bowed out in their opener, losing to Canada’s Jonathan Bing Tsan Lai and Crystal Lai. In another mixed doubles clash, Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh fell in a marathon three-game battle against Turkey’s Emre Sonmez and Yasemen Bektas, going down 21-16, 29-30, 22-24.
Treesa-Gayatri progress in doubles
Top women’s doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand advanced with a straight-games win over their first-round opponents, defeating them 21-15, 21-12. They will next face the American duo of Lauren Lam and Allison Lee in the second round. Another Indian pair, Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi, are set to take on Bulgaria’s Stefani and Gabriela Stoeva.
