Lakshya Sen Shines at India Open, Enters Quarters; Top Stars Exit

• Lakshya Sen advanced to the quarterfinals of the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament with a strategic win over Japan's Kenta Nishimoto.
• Former champions Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy were eliminated after tough losses to Christo Popov and Loh Kean Yew, respectively.
• India's top men's doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, also exited after a narrow defeat to Japan's Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita.
• Malvika Bansod and the women's doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also faced defeats, ending India's challenge in those categories.
• Sen, a 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, demonstrated resilience and maturity, becoming the only Indian singles player remaining in the tournament at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.

Why It Matters: Lakshya Sen is India's sole singles hope at the India Open, as other top players faced early exits.