Sindhu broke no sweat during her victory over Zhang.
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
When Garret Tan took a medical timeout leading 17-16 in the decider, it looked like Lakshya Sen would finally get the stroke of luck he so desperately needed.Instead, the 18-year-old American of Taiwanese descent would jump, smash and punch his way to the biggest win of his career so far. He packed off the home favourite 19-21, 21-19, 21-17 in an hour and 13 minutes in the second round of the badminton World championships here on Wednesday.Having scraped through his opening-round match, Lakshya, ranked 14th and a bronze medallist at the global tournament, was expected to have an easy outing against the World No. 92 Tan.DisappointmentBut, on a day Ayush Shetty had an easier time than in his sparring sessions and P.V. Sindhu broke little sweat to reach the pre-quarterfinals, Lakshya floundered against an opponent who did not allow him any space or momentum.The contest was as much in the mind as on the court. Tan, a former junior World No. 1, packed power in his overhead and cross-court smashes that often left Lakshya stranded in the middle. He was equally impressive with his drops but the Indian managed to edge ahead by taking the opening game.Leading 11-8 in the second game, Tan capitalised on his opponent’s mistakes at the net with high lifts to the back of the court. Every time Lakshya looked to get a foothold, his rival unleashed smashing winners.Tan raced to a 11-4 advantage in the decider and it looked all over for Lakshya before the Indian rode on crowd support to come within striking distance. But the American’s timeout followed by a series of jump smashes ended hopes.Ayush, meanwhile, wrapped up his match against Sri Lanka’s Dumindu Abeywickrama 21-8, 21-10 in 25 minutes and Sindhu took 10 more minutes to beat Canadian Wen Yu Zhang 21-16, 21-17 to set up a clash with Wang Zhiyi (China). Unnati Hooda, however, went down fighting 21-11, 9-21, 21-23 to 13th seed Michelle Li of Canada.Bringing cheerIn doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto advanced with a 21-11, 21-11 win against Lok Chong Leong and Weng Chi Ng of Macau. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty got a walkover after the Scottish pair of Alexander Dunn and Adam Pringle withdrew following Dunn’s injury.Important results:Men: Loh Kean Yew (Sin) bt Cheuk Yiu Lee (Hkg) 15-21, 21-17, 21-15; Chou Tien Chen (Tpe) bt Giovanni Toti (Ita) 21-12, 21-11; Jonatan Christie (Ina) bt Jia Heng Teh (Sin) 19-21, 21-19, 21-11; Rasmus Gemke (Den) bt Chun-Yi Lin (Tpe) 13-21, 21-17, 21-11; Li Shifeng (Chn) bt Jun Hao Leong (Mas) 21-19, 21-19; Garret Tan (USA) bt Lakshya Sen 19-21, 21-19, 21-17; Ayush Shetty bt Dumindu Abeywickrama (SL) 21-8, 21-10. Doubles: Fajar Alfian & Muhammad Shohibul Fikri (Ina) bt Eloi Adam & Leo Rossi (Fra) 21-14, 21-13; Kang Min Hyuk & Ki Dong Ju (Kor) bt Hariharan Amsakarunan & M.R. Arjun 21-17, 21-14; Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty w/o Alexander Dunn & Adam Pringle (Sco).Women: An Se-young (Kor) bt Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan (Ina) 21-15, 21-11; Michelle Li (Can) bt Unnati Hooda 11-21, 21-9, 23-21; P.V. Sindhu bt Wen Yu Zhang (Can) 21-16, 21-17. Doubles: Pearly Tan & Thinaah Muralitharan (Mas) bt Bengisu Ercetin & Nazlican Inci (Tur) 21-16, 21-13.Mixed doubles: Dhruv Kapila & Tanisha Crasto bt Lok Chong Leong & Weng Chi Ng (Mac) 21-11, 21-11. Published - August 19, 2026 11:05 pm IST
