Lakshya Sen of India lost to Nhat Nguyen of Ireland in straight games in the men’s singles opening round of the French Open Super 750 badminton competition in Paris, resulting in a dismal early departure. The 29th-ranked Nhat, who exacted revenge for losing to the Indian in the Denmark Open only a week ago, defeated the World No. 16 7-21, 16-21 after the player appeared unprepared for the match. After a successful run to the Hong Kong Open final earlier this month, Lakshya entered the match as the favorite but failed to maintain any consistency.
His timing and shot choice failed him right away, and he made a lot of unforced mistakes that let his opponent take the lead. Lakshya’s deep throws kept missing the lines, but Nhat, who was renowned for his steep smashes and keen anticipation, took advantage of every wayward return. After a string of missed and scored shots, Lakshya fell behind 2–7 early in the first game, setting the tone. Even though he put in a lot of effort during rallies, he was unable to complete points cleanly and frequently overhit or played into the tape.
Lakshya Sen struggled against Irish shuttler Nhat, trailing 6 points at the interval and falling further behind as Nhat raced to a 19-7 lead, eventually sealing the first game with a cross-court winner. Switching sides offered little relief, as Nhat dominated again, leading 11-5 at the break. Lakshya briefly fought back to 11-15 but couldn’t maintain momentum. A series of errors gave Nhat six match points, and despite saving two, Lakshya lost the match in 38 minutes.
