Fifteen minutes of absolute disarray followed by 30 minutes of a badminton masterclass — that would sum up Lakshya Sen’s opening round match, the Indian winning 16-21, 21-8, 21-4 against Austria’s Collins Valentine Filimon on Tuesday.

Against an opponent ranked 128th, the 14th seed Lakshya was expected to have an easy outing but the pressure of playing at home on badminton’s biggest stage clearly got to the 2021 bronze medallist, the Indian having to adjust and adapt after losing the first game to a combination of factors, both conditional and self-inflicted.

Filimon, almost half a foot taller and with nothing to lose, came out attacking and aggressive and reaped the reward. Lakshya, more circumspect and cagey, conceded ground, control and points. He appeared too casual and ended up being too erratic, unable to get a grip on his volleys and angles.

Plan gone awry

He would later admit that the game plan he and his team had come with ahead of the match did not work and there were adjustments to be made but regardless of the conditions, including the drift on court, Lakshya was less than impressive in the initial stages.

Filimon’s kept pushing Lakshya hard and to the back with his overhead lobs, smashes and cross court shots, his height helping him cover the court more easily and making Lakshya work hard. The Indian was unable to reach the shuttle far too often. When he tried to go for the sidelines, he went too wide; when he held himself back, he fell short.

It was perhaps the wake up call he needed, egged on by a vociferous crowd that cheered every point and, when the going got tough, cheered even more. With an animated coach Yoo Yong-Sung instructing, Lakshya changed his style and the tactics, took control, and grew aggressively into the game even as Filimon withered away with the decider a cakewalk.

Unnati begins well

It was the highlight of Indian challenge on a mixed day for the host with Unnati Hooda making a winning start to her maiden World Championships outing with a 22-20, 21-16 win against Thet Htar Thuzar of Myanmar but two of the three mixed doubles pairs bowing out.

Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde lost to Canada’s Jonathan and Crystal Lai 20-22, 21-19, 21-17 while Ashith Surya and Amutha Pramuthesh, making the main draw as reserves, went down fighting 16-21, 30-29, 24-22 to Emre Sonmez and Yasemen Bektas of Turkey.

Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand celebrated their Arjuna Award by reaching the pre-quarterfinals against 17th seed Lauren Lam and Allison Lee of USA 21-15, 21-12 in women’s doubles but Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi bowed out against the Stoeva sisters Gabriela and Stefani of Bulgaria 21-7, 21-14.

Important results: Men: Jonatan Christie (Ina) bt Matthias Kicklitz (Ger) 21-15, 21-14; Loh Kean Yew (Sin) bt Brian Yang (Can) 21-14, 22-20; Kenta Nishimoto (Jpn) bt Christo Popov (Fra) 21-17, 21-19; Lakshya Sen bt Collins Valentine Filimon (Aut) 16-21, 21-8, 21-4.

Doubles: Aaron Chia & Wooi Yik Soh (Mas) bt Peeratchai Sukphun & Pakkapon Teeraratsakul (Tha) 15-21, 21-11, 21-18.

Women: Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) bt Ozge Bayrak (Tur) 18-21, 21-16, 21-9; Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt Neslihan Arin (Tur) 21-14, 21-10; Unnati Hooda bt Thet Htar Thuzar (Mya) 22-20, 21-16; Chen Yu Fei (Chn) bt Sin Yan Happy Lo (Hkg) 18-21, 21-8, 21-11; Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) vs Thuy Linh Nguyen (Vie) 21-12, 21-10.

Doubles: Jia Yi Fan & Shu Xian Zhang (Chn) Lok Lok Lui & Hiu Yan Tsang (Hkg) 21-13, 21-10; Treesa Jolly & Gayatri Gopichand bt Lauren Lam & Allison Lee (USA) 21-15, 21-12; Gabriela Stoeva & Stefani Stoeva (Bul) bt Kavipriya Selvam & Simran Singhi 21-7, 21-14.

Mixed doubles: Jonathan Lai & Crystal Lai (Can) bt Rohan Kapoor & Ruthvika Gadde 20-22, 21-19, 21-17; Emre Sonmez & Yasemen Bektas (Tur) bt Ashith Surya & Amutha Pramuthesh 16-21, 30-29, 24-22.

Published – August 18, 2026 09:07 pm IST

Gopi Chand played his part in the rise of stars such as Kashyap, Srikanth and Sindhu.
| Photo Credit: File photo: Getty Images