China Masters: Lakshya Sen Knocked Out, Srikanth, Anmol and Chaliha Advance to Round of 16

Lakshya Sen’s campaign at the China Masters came to an abrupt end on Wednesday after the Indian shuttler suffered a straight-games defeat against Canada’s Victor Lai in the opening round.

Sen was beaten 14-21, 7-21 by Lai at the Shenzhen Arena in a one-sided Round-of-32 encounter. The defeat marked Sen’s third loss to the Canadian in four career meetings and continued what has become a difficult rivalry for the Indian this season.

Lai has now defeated Sen three times in 2026. The Canadian first got the better of him at the Thomas Cup before beating him again in the Round of 16 at the China Open in July. Sen’s only victory over Lai came in a closely fought three-game semifinal at the All England Open in March, where the Indian prevailed 21-16, 18-21, 21-15.

Sen had initially been scheduled to face newly crowned world champion Alex Lanier of France in Shenzhen. Lanier, however, withdrew from the tournament following his title-winning performance at the World Championships in New Delhi.

The early exit adds to a disappointing run for Sen in recent weeks. At last month’s World Championships on home soil, he was eliminated in the second round after losing to American shuttler Garrett Tan.

There was better news for India elsewhere in the men’s singles draw. Former world championship silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth produced a composed performance to defeat China’s Chi Yu-jen 21-16, 21-15 and move into the next round.

Raunak Chauhan also began his campaign on a positive note, overcoming China’s Liu Yu Xuan 21-15, 21-18. Saneeth Dayanand produced one of the notable results of the day by defeating third-seeded Chinese player Dong Tian Yao 9-21, 21-18, 21-15 after recovering from a slow start.

Kiran George, however, was unable to join his compatriots in the next round. He fought hard against Japan’s Shogo Ogawa but eventually went down 15-21, 23-21, 10-21 in a three-game contest.

In women’s singles, India had two convincing victories. Anmol Kharb comfortably defeated Hong Kong’s Liang Ka Wing 21-17, 21-9, while Ashmita Chaliha overcame Thailand’s Pornpicha Choeikeewong 21-17, 23-21 in a more closely contested encounter.

India also advanced in mixed doubles, with Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto making short work of Thailand’s Tonkid Saeheng and Tonrug Saeheng, winning 21-8, 21-9.

The Indian challenge will continue later in the day, with the men’s doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty set to face Malaysia’s Junaidi Arif and Kang Khai Xing. In women’s singles, Tanvi Sharma will take on Denmark’s Amalie Schulz.

While Sen’s early departure will be a setback for India, the progress of Srikanth, Kharb and Chaliha, along with strong performances from other Indian players, keeps the country’s challenge alive at the China Masters.