BWF German Open 2023: Lakshya Sen loses in first round, Indian challenge ends

While last year’s runner-up Lakshya Sen lost to Frenchman Christo Popov, Tasnim Mir suffered defeat against Thai shuttler Pornpawee Chochuwong in the first round of the German Open.

FILE PHOTO: India’s Lakshya Sen lost to Frenchman Christo Popov in the opening round of the BWF German Open in Mulheim on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: R. V. Moorthy/The Hindu

India’s challenge at the German Open, a BWF World Tour Super 300 event, ended on Wednesday as all four singles players lost in the first round in Mulheim, Germany.

Sixth-seeded Lakshya Sen, who reached the final last year, lost 19-21, 16-21 to Frenchman Christo Popov in 45 minutes.

Teenager Tasnim Mir, who reached the main draw after beating Ireland’s Rachael Darragh in the qualifying round, suffered an 8-21, 10-21 defeat against eighth-seeded Thai shuttler Pornpawee Chochuwong in 25 minutes.

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Later in the day, Malvika Bansod too lost 13-21, 14-21 to fifth-seeded Chinese player Wang Zhi Yi while newly-crowned national champion Mithun Manjunath went down 8-21, 21-19, 11-21 to former world champion Loh Kean Yew, fourth seed from Singapore.

The mixed doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and B. Sumeeth Reddy had lost 10-21, 12-21 to the Scottish pair of Julie Macpherson and Adam Hall in their opening round fixture while world junior championships silver medallist Sankar Muthusamy failed to win in his final qualifying round match on Tuesday.

The Indian contingent will next be in action at the All England Open which begins in Birmingham on March 14.