The India Open 2026 campaign for the host country came to an end at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Friday. India’s last standing shuttler Lakshya Sen fell in a tightly-contested quarterfinal against his familiar foe, Lin Chun Yi of Chinese Taipei.
Egged on by an enthusiastic crowd, the 25-year-old fought gallantly but lost 21-17, 13-21, 18-21 in a thriller that lasted 68 minutes. This extends the drought of seeing an Indian champion since the tournament was upgraded to Super 750 status in 2023.
Lin, a left-hander, maintained his all-win record against Sen, extending it to 4-0. Sen had lost to the same opponent in the first round in the previous edition of India Open.
“I think in today’s match, I was not prepared for the wind,” said a dejected Sen. “It was a very close match. I could have been a little more clinical towards the end, but credit to Lin as he played solid. Both of us were trying to keep up the attack, but he managed to control the game,” he described.
The opening game saw a steady start from Lin as he led 5-3. Afterwards, he struggled to control his lifts due to the drift and Sen reeled off three consecutive points, beating Lin on his backhand side with good interceptions. He led 11-9 at the break. Exploiting the drift advantage, he added points in clusters while keeping the shuttle tight at the net. Lin made several errors while lifting behind Sen.
In the second game, Sen took a 5-2 lead, but the tide turned soon. He was on the faster side of the court and the drift did not favour him. Playing a deceptive game blended with some explosive smashes, the player from Chinese Taipei ran riot and dismantled Sen’s control with nine straight points. It gave him an 11-5 lead at the interval. It soon became 14-8 before Sen won a 56-shot rally. He made a brief comeback, but Lin sealed the game with four consecutive points.
“There was more wind than yesterday. It took me some time to realise. I was a bit shaky at the net and made too many errors from the front court,” Sen said of the drift factor.
The decider witnessed Sen racing to a 4-0 lead. Being on the better side of the court helped, but he made multiple mistakes. He was trying to lift the shuttle over his opponent, but Lin converted them into points with some explosive forehand smashes. The Indian still went to the break leading 11-10.
After changing sides, Sen showed composure and the match swung like a pendulum. It was anybody’s game at 18-18. However, Lin held his nerve and won three straight points to dash Indian hopes.
“In the third set, it was more of a pressure game. But again, the whole match was very close, and it was important for me to finish it off. I could have been a little more clinical,” Sen admitted.
“I tried being patient from the back because I knew he was getting a very good length. It was hard to score winners from that deep in the court. So I was trying to play more downward shots and keep the attack, but it didn’t work.”
Asked about the off-court noise surrounding the tournament, Sen said, “In every tournament, there are things that don’t go as planned. We can’t do anything about that. It’s everywhere. I’m not focusing too much on it.”
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