New Delhi: Lakshya Sen bowed out of the BWF World Championships 2025 after losing to top seed and world no.1 Shi Yu Qi in the opening round of the men’s singles event on Monday. Shi Yu Qi defeated Sen 17-21, 19-21 in straight games to progress to the second round of the tournament. The ace Indian shuttler produced a valiant fight, but went down in a hard-fought clash against the Chinese.

Ranked 21 at present, Lakshya was far from a favourite against Shi in their opening round clash. However, he pushed the world no.1 to his limits in what was a spirited fight from the Indian. The 24-year-old has not been in great form over the last year, but headed into the World Championships on the back of a semi-final finish at the Macau Open recently.

Lakshya gave his all on the court, but it wasn’t enough to beat Shi, who held his nerves to wrap up the intense match in 54 minutes. The Chinese top seed recorded his 4th victory against the Indian in five meetings between them. Shi had earlier beaten Sen in three games at the Indonesia Open this year and continued his fine form at the BWF World Championships in Paris.

More to follow…