Lakshya Sen, the lone Indian to reach the quarter-finals of the 2024 Indonesia Open Super 1000, bowed out of the competition on Friday following a loss to Denmark’s Anders Antonsen in the men’s singles quarter-finals.
The 2024 Paris Olympics bound Sen went down 22-24, 18-21 in straight games at the Istora Senayan.
Sen, ranked 14th in the world, did not have the best of starts but soon found his rhythm to take a slender 11-10 lead at the mid-game interval. Antonsen fought back to open up a 16-13 lead as errors flowed from the Indian’s racquet but he quickly arrested the slide.
Sen won five points in a row to lead 18-16 and even had two game points at 20-18, but failed to convert as the world No 5 outplayed him at the crucial moments. Sen had yet another game point at 22-21 before Antonsen pocketed the first game.
The 22-year-old Sen even opened up a 6-2 lead in the second game, but Antonsen kept finding regular points to keep within a touching distance of the Indian.
Sen was astute with his defence and net play, often catching the Danish shuttler by surprise, but failed to hold his nerves in the closing stages as he conceded the match in 61 minutes despite a valiant effort.
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