Srikanth, Satwik-Chirag shine as Lakshya Sen crashes out in China Masters opener

Shenzhen: India’s star shuttler Lakshya Sen was knocked out in the opening round of the China Masters 2026 in Shenzhen on Wednesday, while former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth progressed to the pre-quarterfinals, according to Olympics.com.

World No. 13 Lakshya suffered a 21-14, 21-7 defeat to Canada’s world No. 9 Victor Lai in a 38-minute contest. The Indian made a strong start, racing to a 4-0 lead, but Lai fought back to take an 11-8 advantage at the interval. The Canadian then extended his lead with a five-point burst to move 17-11 ahead and eventually close out the opening game.

The second game was even more one-sided, with Lai leading 11-4 at the interval before sealing a comfortable victory.

The result capped another inconsistent outing for Lakshya this season. The 25-year-old had reached the All England Open final in March but has struggled to maintain that momentum, including a second-round exit at last month’s World Championships in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, Srikanth produced an impressive performance to overcome Chinese Taipei’s world No. 21 Chi Yu-jen 21-16, 21-15 in 35 minutes at the BWF Super 750 event.

The world No. 34 Indian will take on Lai in the pre-quarterfinals.

World No. 5 men’s doubles duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also began their campaign with a straight-games victory, defeating Malaysia’s Junaidi Arif and Kang Khai Xing 21-11, 21-16 in a 40-minute contest.

The fourth-seeded Indians faced a tougher challenge in the second game, with the score tied at 16-16. Satwik and Chirag, however, produced a decisive five-point run to seal the match. They will next meet France’s Christo Popov and Toma Junior Popov in the pre-quarterfinals.

In women’s singles, Tanvi Sharma continued her strong run this season with a 21-16, 21-17 win over Denmark’s world No. 40 Amalie Schulz. The mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila  and Olympian Tanisha Crasto also advanced to the next round (ANI)

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