Indian badminton player Laksa Sen advanced to the men’s singles quarterfinals Indonesian champions 2023 BWF Super 500 tournament in Jakarta on Thursday.
Lakshya Sen, seeded seventh, defeated Malaysian NG Tze Yong, world No. 28 in the latest badminton rankings, to win the round of 16 match 19-21, 21-8, 21-17.
Both players were evenly matched in the early exchanges and were tied 13-all in the first game in point. The Malaysian shuttle, however, broke free and took the lead.
Lakshya Sen, the reigning Commonwealth Men’s Games champion, responded in style and completely dominated the second game to tie the game. The deciding match was much more difficult as the Indian shuttle had to score the last three points on the trot to seal their quarters.
In the final eight, Lakshya Sen will face fourth seed Jonatan Christie or his Indonesian teammate Shesar Hiren Rhustavito, who played for Kidambi Srikanth in the first round.
Lakshya Sen was previously in charge of Japan’s Kodai Naraoka in straight matches in the opening round.
Later in the day, India Saina Nehwal was eliminated from the women’s singles event after losing 15-21, 7-21 to China’s Yue Han.
The Indian Olympic medalist never managed to gain a foothold in a match as Yue Han, the eighth seed in women’s singles, controlled the pace of the game from start to finish.
Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa will play women’s doubles in the round of 16 later in the day.
