Lakshya Sen crashed out in the first round of the Denmark Open after losing to Chou Tien Chen. The Indian ace fought for 63 minutes but fell 18-21, 21-13, 15-21. This defeat adds to his recent struggles in 2026, following early exits at the Asian Games and World Championships.

Lakshya Sen's fight in his battle with Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen was valiant but not enough as the Indian ace crashed out in the first round of the Denmark Open. Lakshya lost to Chen 18-21, 21-13, 15-21 in a titanic battle that went on for 63 minutes.

DENMARK OPEN 2026: FULL COVERAGE

Lakshya has struggled to find consistency in 2026, with disappointing results at two major tournaments. His latest setback came at the Asian Games, where he bowed out in the second round of the men's singles competition to Singapore's former world champion Loh Kean Yew at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.

The Indian shuttler had also endured an unexpected early exit at the BWF World Championships in August. Sen was beaten in the second round by American Garret Tan, ranked World No. 92, who fought back to secure a 19-21, 21-19, 21-17 victory.

HOW THE MATCH UNFOLDED

The first game was a cagey affair from the get-go, with both men battling it out to gain the advantage. Lakshya did have a 8-6 advantage before Chen made a comeback to take the lead into the break.

It was Lakshya who started well right after the resumption and looked all set to seal the first game as he was leading 18-15. But Chen produced a sensational comeback that stunned the Indian ace as he went on a six-point winning run to take home the first game.

The second game started off in brilliant fashion for Lakshya, who appeared to have found his footing in the contest. He took the lead at the break and then added to it after the restart, taking a lead of 18-7 at one point.

While Chen was able to make a comeback it wasn't enough and Lakshya pushed the match into the decider.

The third game saw Chen regain his form, leaving Lakshya playing catch-up throughout the third game. Chen was leading 17-7 at one point, but the Indian ace was able to make it 19-15.

But the Chinese Taipei paddler was able to secure the win.

Meanwhile, Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the round of 16 with a straight-games victory over France's Arnaud Merkle. The Indian, ranked World No. 31, prevailed 22-20, 21-19 and will next face either seventh seed Alex Lanier or Hu Zhe An.

In the women's singles, Tanvi Sharma secured her place in the next round after overcoming Japan's Natsuki Nidaira in a three-game battle. Sharma won 21-17, 16-21, 21-19 to keep her campaign alive.

She could now face compatriot P.V. Sindhu in the following round, provided the World No. 11 gets past Germany's Yvonne Li.