Lakshya Sen has failed in his first attempt to make it to the 2026 BWF World Championships in New Delhi. The Indian badminton star was due to meet the top seed from the USA Garret Tan, tomorrow in the men's singles second round of the tournament.
Sen had entered the match after making a strong comeback in his first match against Austria’s Collins Valentine Filimon. He lost the first game but recovered brilliantly to win the match 16 21, 21- 8, 21- 4 and move into the second round.
The result had given Indian fans hope that Sen could make a deep run at the home World Championships. However, his campaign ended in the second round after his match against Tan.
Sen came in as one of India’s biggest hopes for the men’s singles. He is also a bronze medallist at the World Championships and has already had some memorable performances in the international badminton circuit.
Sen had made a strong comeback in his opening match
Sen did not have an easy start to the tournament. His first round against Filimon became a difficult battle after the Austrian won the opening game 21-16.
The Indian was struggling in the first half of the match. The drift inside the stadium made it difficult for him to control some of his shots, especially around the net. Filimon took advantage of those mistakes and moved on. Sen then changed his approach.
Instead of racing to finish rallies fast, he began to play longer exchanges and get his opponent to work harder. It produced immediate results.
Sen won the second game 21- 8 and then dominated the deciding game. He ran away from Filimon and finally finished the match 21- 4. The entire match lasted about 45 minutes.
Sen’s comeback showed that he could change after a tough match. It also gave him some confidence for the second round.
His next opponent was American teenager Garret Tan
Tan had reached the second round after defeating Switzerland's Tobias Kuenzi 21- 4, 21-5. The match gave the American a chance to meet one of India's leading badminton players on the biggest stage.
The second round was expected to be another major test for Sen. A win would have taken him closer to the later stages of the tournament and given him a chance to challenge some of the world's top players.
Sen’s playing at home added a further layer to the tournament.
The 2026 BWF World Championships are held at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. During the competition, Indian players were supported by the home crowd.
Sen has also been one of the main names that attracted attention from Indian badminton fans.
His recent form has made him one of the players to watch at the tournament. He finished runner up at the All England Open earlier this year, losing to China's Lin Chun Yi in the final.
That performance proved that Sen is still able to contend with the best players in the world.
His early exit from the World Championships will be a major disappointment for the Indian camp.
And the failure also demonstrates just how tough the World Championships are. Each round is a personal challenge, and even a top international player will struggle to keep momentum going during the tournament.
India still has several players participating in the event.
PV Sindhu, Ayush Shetty, Unnati Hooda, and the men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are among the Indian players playing in the tournament.
Unnati Hooda also advanced to the second round after beating Myanmar’s Thet Htar Thuzar 22 20, 21 16. She was going to meet Canada’s Michelle Li in her next match.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have also made a remarkable start. The Indian women's doubles pair defeated the 16th-seeded American combination Lauren Lam and Allison Lee 21 15, 21 12 to reach the pre-quarterfinals.
However, for Sen, the focus now will turn to what will happen next.
His early loss will be a disappointment, especially when he made a decent comeback in the first round. But it doesn’t knock him out of the mix of the top men’s singles players of India.
The World Championships have once again demonstrated how unpredictable badminton is. A player can recover from a tough opening game one day and then be thrust up against a completely different challenge the next round.
Sen will now have to regroup and look ahead to the rest of the season.
His second-round exit is surely a disappointing one for Indian fans. The home crowd had expected to see the former World Championships medallist go deep into the competition.
Instead, his 2026 World Championships campaign has come to an early end.
