Asian Games 2026: Lakshya Sen Knocked Out in Opening Round After Defeat to Loh Kean Yew

Lakshya Sen's campaign in the men's singles event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games came to an early end on Saturday as he was beaten by Singapore's Loh Kean Yew in a three-game opening-round encounter.

Sen made an impressive start, racing into a 5-1 advantage in the opening game. However, Loh quickly turned the momentum around with 10 straight points, moving ahead 11-5 at the break. The Singaporean continued to dominate and closed out the first game 21-12.

The Indian shuttler responded strongly in the second game after a cautious beginning. The two players remained locked in a tight battle for much of the game, trading points in quick succession. Sen raised the intensity in the closing stages and used his attacking strokes effectively to take the game 21-15 and level the match.

Loh once again established control at the start of the deciding game, building an 8-3 lead. Sen fought back and reduced the deficit to just one point at 13-14, but the Singaporean regained his composure and pulled away to lead 18-14. He then held his nerve to win the decider 21-14 and seal his place in the next round.

The loss brought Sen's men's singles campaign at the Asian Games to a premature conclusion.

India had earlier suffered another setback in badminton when the men's doubles combination of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty was knocked out in the opening round. With both events ending earlier than expected, attention now turns to the remaining Indian shuttlers, including two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, who is scheduled to begin her women's singles campaign.