Aichi-Nagoya, 26 September (H.S.): Indian badminton player Lakshya Sen’s individual campaign at the 2026 Asian Games came to an end in the second round on Saturday, as Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew defeated him 21-12, 15-21, 21-14 in a closely contested three-game match to advance to the next round.

The defeat was another setback for India’s badminton campaign. A day earlier, India’s leading men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, had also been eliminated from the men’s doubles competition.

Lakshya made a strong start to the opening game, racing to a 5-1 lead. Loh, however, responded with a remarkable run of 11 consecutive points to seize control of the contest. Lakshya was unable to recover from the setback and conceded the opening game 12-21.

Lakshya staged an impressive comeback in the second game. He moved the shuttle around different areas of the court to put Loh under pressure and levelled the match by winning the game 21-15.

Loh regained control in the deciding game. After trailing 7-11, Lakshya attempted another fightback and narrowed the gap to 13-14. However, he struggled to counter Loh’s effective body attacks. With Lakshya trailing 12-14 at one stage, he managed to win only one of the next eight points and eventually lost the game 14-21.

With the defeat, Lakshya’s wait for an individual medal at the Asian Games continues. He previously won a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and finished fourth at the Paris Olympics.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar