Taiwanese world No. 11 Wang Tzu-wei showed signs of returning to form at badminton’s HYLO Open Super 500 tournament in Germany this week before falling to promising Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen in the round-of-16 on Thursday.
Fourth seed Wang was beaten 17-21, 15-21 in 37 minutes against the tournament’s 2019 champion at Saarlandhalle in Saarbrucken, after he had started off his campaign by taking down world No. 57 Felix Burestedt of Sweden 21-17, 21-9 in straight games on Tuesday.
On Thursday, 26-year-old Wang trailed closely behind 20-year-old Sen to reach 17-19, before the Indian shuttler won the next two points to pocket the first game.
Photo courtesy of the Badminton Association of Thailand via CNA
Wang put up a spirited fight in the second game and tied the score nine times before Sen reeled off five consecutive points to claim an 18-13 advantage. Sen had match point at 20-14, with Wang saving the first, but not the second.
Wang and Sen have a 1-1 head-to-head record after Wang defeated Sen at the New Zealand Open in 2019.
Sen, known as “young Lakshya” and in 21st spot in the BWF world rankings, is one of India’s most prolific shuttlers and is being personally groomed by legendary former Indian badminton player Prakash Padukone.
Taiwanese top seed Chou Tien-chen was knocked out in the first round on Wednesday by Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew 18-21, 13-21 in 37 minutes.
Chou, the world No. 4 and Indonesian Open champion in 2019, reached the final of the men’s singles at the French Open on Sunday, but finished runner-up to Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama.
In the men’s doubles on Thursday, Taiwanese eighth seeds Lu Ching-yao and Yang Po-han fell to a 25-23, 14-21, 21-19 defeat to Indonesian duo Pramudya Kusumawardana and Yeremia Rambitan.
In the mixed doubles, Taiwanese pairing Yang Po-hsuan and Hu Ling-fang fell to a 21-17, 15-21, 21-19 loss to Thai duo Supak Jomkoh and Supissara Paewsampran.
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