Indian men’s singles shuttlers Lakshya Sen and Kiran George, on Wednesday, advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the 2024 Arctic Open Super 500 in Vantaa, Finland.
Sen, who was marking his return two months after a fourth-place finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics, was given a walkover to the second round. His opponent Rasmus Gemke of Denmark pulled out of the contest at the last minute, handing the Indian a spot in the Round of 16.
Kiran, meanwhile, beat Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei 23-21, 21-18 in straight games to earn his spot in the pre-quarters.
The 25-year-old Kiran overcame a stiff challenge against the world No 25 in a contest which lasted 53 minutes.
The Indian shuttler did not have the best of starts, trailing 2-7 but fought to level up at 15-15. He took a 19-16 lead before Wang neutralised it and threatened to run away with the opening game. Kiran, however, maintained his composure under pressure to win it 23-21.
Kiran once again came down from an early 4-9 deficit in the second game to equalise at 13-13. There were no last moment hiccups this time around as he took the second game 21-18 and send the higher ranked shuttler packing.
Kiran will next take on the reigning Asian Champion Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the Round of 16, while Sen will be up against Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen.
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