Sen enters quarters; ‘bird droppings’ halt match

new delhi: Former champion Lakshya Sen produced a composed and tactical performance to progress to the quarterfinals of the $950,000 India Open Super 750 but Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy bowed out after a spirited show here on Thursday.

The top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, one of the favourites to win the title, also exited after a heartbreaking 27-25 21-23 19-21 loss to Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita in the second round later in the day.

Sen showed resilience and maturity to overcame Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto 21-19, 21-11 in the second round to emerge as the only Indian challenge in singles at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.

“At the start of the opening game I was struggling with my rhythm a bit and was lifting short and that allowed him to attack more. But then I started lifting the shuttle longer and focused on defending well and I think that turned the first game,” Lakshya told reporters.

Earlier, Srikanth fought hard but went down 21-14, 17-21, 21-17 to France’s Christo Popov. Prannoy also pushed his opponent close before losing 18-21, 21-19, 21-14 to eighth seed Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.

Prannoy’ match halted

“Bird droppings” forced two stoppages during Prannoy‘s match. The unusual interruptions occurred on the third day of the event, already under scrutiny following complaints related to playing conditions, air quality, extreme cold.