India’s Lakshya Sen and Malvika Bansod faced early exits from the Denmark Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Odense, Denmark, on October 15, 2024. Both players put up a fight but ultimately fell short in their respective first-round matches.
Lakshya Sen’s Battle
Lakshya Sen, the 2021 World Championship bronze medallist, faced a tough challenge against China’s Lu Guang Zu. Sen started strong, winning the first game 21-12, but Lu made a strong comeback, winning the next two games 21-19 and 21-14. The match, which lasted 70 minutes, saw Sen squandering an early advantage and ultimately losing 21-12, 19-21, 14-21. This early exit comes after Sen’s second-round finish at the Arctic Open in Finland last week.
Malvika Bansod’s Struggle
Malvika Bansod, who had reached the quarterfinals at the China Open, faced Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Linh in the women’s singles. Bansod struggled to find her rhythm and lost the match 13-21, 12-21 in straight games. This early exit was a disappointment for Bansod, who had shown promise in recent tournaments.
Panda sisters, Rutaparna and Swetaparna, also made a first-round exit after losing 18-21 22-24 against Chinese Taipei’s Chang Ching Hui and Yang Ching Tun in women’s doubles.
Lakshya Sen crashes OUT in opening round of Denmark Open (Super 750).
He lost to WR 18 Lu Guang Zu 21-12, 19-21, 14-21.
After taking the 1st game, Lakshya was leading 16-11 in 2nd game! #DenmarkOpenSuper750 pic.twitter.com/iNaJSXK2Nt
— India_AllSports (@India_AllSports) October 15, 2024
Lakshya, competing in his second event since the Olympics, kept pace with his Chinese rival before pulling ahead at 8-8 to take an 11-9 advantage at the break. The Indian kept his nose ahead after resumption and jumped to 20-11 with a seven-point burst to comfortably pocket the opening game.
After the change of sides, Lakshya surged to 8-2 but Lu rallied to narrow the gap to 11-12. The Indian extended his lead to 16-11 but Lu’s persistence paid off as he kept troubling Lakshya and reversed the situation, taking 19-18 lead. The Indian drew parity but Lu got the required two points to script a comeback.
In the decider, Lu maintained his composure and pulled ahead to 14-9, while the Indian struggled to keep pace. In a jiffy, Lu seized six match points and sealed the victory when Lakshya went long.
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