Thailand Open: India's Lakshya Sen eliminated from semi-finals
What's the story
Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen's inspiring run at the 2023 Thailand Open came to an end after he lost to Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the semi-finals in Bangkok.
Sen, who bagged the Commonwealth Games gold medal last year, fought valiantly but it was just not enough for the Indian as he lost 21-13, 17-21, 13-21 against the world number five.
Here's more.
Information
H2H record between Sen and Vitidsarn
Before this match, Vitidsarn had a slender lead over Sen in the head-to-head statistics. He had defeated the Indian four times in seven meetings. He now, leads 5-3 against Sen. Vitidsarn defeated Sen 21-18, 21-15 in their last meeting at the 2022 German Open.
Journey
Sen's tough journey to the Thailand Open semi-finals
The young shuttler had to face some quality opponents in the event to make his way to the semi-finals in Bangkok.
He defeated former World No. 9 Wang Tzu Wei from Chinese Taipei 21-23, 21-15, 21-15 followed by a win over reigning All-England Championship Li Shi Feng, who was also the fourth seed.
He defeated Malaysian qualifier Leong Jun Hao to reach the semi-finals.
Stat
First semi-final appearance of the year for Sen
Sen had a very difficult 2023 season and this was a refreshing change as he reached his first semi-finals of the year. His previous best performance of this year was reaching the quarterfinals at the Indonesia Masters.
The Thomas Cup winner suffered early exits in the last few events after the Indonesia Masters and therefore his World Ranking has dropped to 23.