Lakshya Sen of India in motion towards Anders Antonsen of Denmark in the Men’s Singles on Day Three of the Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships 2024 at Utilita Arena Birmingham on March 14, 2024 in Birmingham, England.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images
India’s Lakshya Sen recorded a shocking three-game win over world no. 3 Anders Antonsen to progress to the quarterfinals however an error-prone PV Sindhu misplaced in the ladies’s singles second spherical of the All England Championships right here on Thursday.
The World No. 18 Sen, who had completed runner-up on the 2022 version, fought his approach again from a 2-8 deficit in the decider after dropping the second recreation to prevail 24-22 11-21 21-14 over Antonsen, a three-time medallist on the World championships, in a controversial second spherical match.
Earlier Sindhu, a double Olympic medallist, gave the impression to be in good contact as she fought arduous towards the world No. 1 An Se Young of Korea however didn’t curb her errors to slide to a 19-21, 11-21 loss.
It was the Indian’s seventh successive loss to the indomitable An Se Young, who had turn out to be the primary Korean lady singles participant to win the World Championships final yr.
Sen got here into the match with a 1-3 document towards Antonsen, who had defeated the Indian in all of the final three conferences.
But the Indian produced a great present and was main 17-15 in the primary recreation after some shut battles initially. With two winners, Antonsen made it 17-17 however Sen was the primary to realize two recreation factors with a exact backhand flick on the nook.
The Indian squandered 5 recreation factors as Antonsen stayed alive.
Eventually at 22-22, two power-packed smashes gave Sen his fifth recreation level and he sealed it this time when the Dane sprayed large.
After the change of ends, Antonsen was up to the mark, main 11-7 on the break. The Dane stored a agency maintain on the rallies as Sen dedicated too many errors and the second recreation slipped away rapidly.
In the decider, Antonsen was up 2-8 earlier than grabbing a 11-6 lead on the interval.
But quickly the momentum shifted because the Indian gained seven of the subsequent 9 factors to attract parity at 13-13.
At 14-16, Antonsen was referred to as for a fault for touching the web, which rattled the Dane. “Fault? Why? Touched the net? My racket or body?”, an animated Antonsen may very well be heard saying to the chair umpire.
Sen quickly unleashed a forehand winner to maneuver to 16-14, which he swelled to 18-14 when a defensive shot went large from Antonsen.
Another lengthy rally ended up lengthy as Lakshya stood two factors away from a win. A smash gave him six match factors and he transformed when the Dane went large.
Sindhu vs An Se Young
Sindhu, who’s on a comeback path after recovering from a left knee damage, tried to assault however her 22-year-old opponent appeared in a unique league as she diversified the tempo of the rallies and used her repertoire of strokes nicely to return up trumps.
For Sindhu, issues went downhill after the break in the second recreation as errors stored piling up.
Sindhu was up 4-1 however An Se Young began studying the sport higher and slowed down the rallies. She stored sending the tosses and clears, ready for errors from Sindhu, who invariably despatched the shuttle large and lengthy.
Soon the Korean led 11-8. Sindhu stored the assault, producing a backhand push and a cross smash. The Korean, nonetheless, stayed stable in her defence to maneuver to 13-10 after which 15-11 with one other exact smash.
Sindhu tried to cost to the web and goal her rival’s physique however Young’s intuition helped her survive twice as she despatched the shuttle away.
From 13-17, Sindhu fought again to 16-17. But Young once more pulled away with two factors earlier than grabbing 4 recreation factors with a forehand drop.
Sindhu pounced one at internet after which produced a good smash on her rival’s forehand to remain alive. The Korean then slipped throughout a rally as Sindhu made it 19-20.
However, simply in time, An Se Young despatched a backhand crusing over Sindhu’s head to the backline to seal the opening recreation.
The second recreation began on a good word earlier than An Se Young grabbed a five-point lead on the interval. Thereafter, all of it went downhill for Sindhu.
“She is, of course, the top player now. But I should have been much more patient, I made unforced errors. There were easy mistakes,” Sindhu mentioned.
“In the first game it was fine but then I was coming closer and then giving away those two-three points. But I think in the second set I gave her a huge lead, and then I was making receiving mistakes.
“It’s vital to maintain up together with her for that we have to work arduous and be affected person, work arduous on our ability and approach.”
