Thailand Open Highlights: Lakshya Sen goes down to Kunlavut Vitidsarn in straight games

Here's the day wrap from Thailand Open: 

Lakshya Sen loses to unyielding Vitidsarn as India's singles run ends in Thailand Open

India's top men's singles player, Lakshya Sen crashes out of the Thailand Open Super 500 event in the quarter-finals.

Playing against the World No.2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn, Lakshya lost in straight games 19-21, 16-21 in 53 minutes.

Lakshya trailed against Vitidsarn from the very first point of the game. In fact he was 2-11 in the first game, from where he put up an incredible fight.

Lakshya had Vitidsarn rattled as he pushed theopening game to 19-21 but ended up losing eventually.

The second game saw Vitidsarn showchasing his incredible defensive capabilities, where he forced Lakshya into errors. Lakshya's radar was off in the second game, and he hit multiple shots long or wide in tight rallies.

A frustrated Lakshya ended up conceding multiple points from strong positions, majorly hitting the shuttle into the net in attacking shots.

With Lakshya out, India's challenge in the men's singles competition ends.

The doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty are alive in the competition and will be playing the semi-finals on Saturday.

Kunlavut Vitidsarn has found his groove and is smashing the lefe out of the shuttlecocks. Lakshya Sen's radar has gone missing in the second half of Game 2, and he has started losing points in a bunch.

From 9-11 down, Lakshya currently trails 12-17 against the Thaistar.

Lakshya Sen started slow in the second game of the wuarter-final as well. But he has managed to pull things back.

At the break he was trailing 8-11 against Vitidsarn.

In this game though, the Thai is making sure that he does not have a meltdown against the Indian opponent.

Lakshya needs to get some points together and build a lead. The World No.2 is unlikely to have a meltdown once again late in the second game.

The Indian tiger puts up a sensational fight in the second half of the first game!

Rapid exchanges on the net, zen focus while playing the drives. Lakshya had Vitidsarn reeling there.

From 2-11, Lakshya stretches the opening game to 19-21. Vitidsarn, wins a hardfought first game in the quarter-finals.

Exceptional speed from Vitidsarn to survive a really tricky point against Lakshya Sen.

The Indian did most of the things right there. He set the Thai player up at the net, and applied a tap smash to the body. Somehow, Vitidsarn survived and was able to float the shuttle up to the backcourt.

Lakshya played the backhand clear, hoping to catch his opponent off-guard. But Vitidsarn saw it, forced Lakshya in an odd defensive position and then killed the point with a terrific smash.

Would you believe it!

After trailing 2-11 at the break. Lakshya Sen has taken 5 straight points from World No.2 Vitidsarn. Deception at the net has been Lakshya's main straight, where he is catching the shuttle earn and making it drop without any pace at all.

Good fightback from the Indian. He is getting a measure of the Thai star.

This has not been a bright start for Lakshya Sen, and the business end juju might just be folding out again. 

The Thai star, Kunlavut Vitidsarn has kept Lakshya constantly on his back-foot. 

The power and quick feet of the World No.2 has kept on troubling Lakshya, as Game 1 slips to 10-2 in favour of Vitidsarn.

This men's singles quarter-final clash against Kunlavut Vitidsarn presents a huge opportunity for Lakshya Sen, beyond the results of the clash.

The Indian ace needs to go past Kunlavut to re-enter the top 10 rankings.

Sen's highest ranking was No.6, which he achieved in 2022 and will be hoping to pull off a win. 

We're finally underway with the Thailand Open action that Indian fans have been waiting for today. 

Lakshya Sen has arrived at Court 1, and so has Kunlavut Vitidsarn as the duo gear up for their men's singles quarterfinal clash.

• March 9, 2024 – French Open (Paris)
  Kunlavut Vitidsarn beat Lakshya Sen 20-22, 21-13, 21-11
• August 24, 2023 – BWF World Championships (Copenhagen)
  Kunlavut Vitidsarn beat Lakshya Sen 21-14, 16-21, 21-13
• July 6, 2023 – Canada Open (Calgary)
  Lakshya Sen beat Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-18, 21-15
• June 3, 2023 – Thailand Open (Bangkok)
  Kunlavut Vitidsarn beat Lakshya Sen 13-21, 21-17, 21-13
• March 13, 2022 – German Open (Mülheim)
  Kunlavut Vitidsarn beat Lakshya Sen 21-18, 21-15
• November 5, 2021 – Hylo Open (Saarbrücken)
  Lakshya Sen beat Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-18, 12-21, 21-19
• March 20, 2019 – Orleans Masters (Orléans)
  Kunlavut Vitidsarn beat Lakshya Sen 23-21, 21-9

Apart from entering the semi-finals of the Thailand Open, Lakshya Sen has a huge opportunity ahead of him. The Indian ace needs to go past Kunlavut to re-enter the top 10 rankings. Sen's highest ranking was No.6, which he achieved in 2022 and will be hoping to pull off a win. 

PV Sindhu had the same chance against Yamaguchi, but she failed to get over the line. 

When it comes to head-to-head stats, Sen is currently trailing 4-7 against Kunlavut in matches. The Indian ace last beat the World No.2 in 2023 at the Canada Open, but will take heart from the fact that he has been able to push Kunlavut all the way in their last two meetings at the World Champions and French Open in 2023 and 2024. 

Lakshya Sen will have his work cutout when he takes on the home favourite and former World Champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn at 4 pm IST. Both men come into the clash on the back of good form, winning four out of their last five games. Sen is yet to drop a game in Bangkok and will be hoping to stun the World No.2. 

It looked like PV Sindhu had control of the match for the most part, at least in the first two games. Akane Yamaguchi was seen getting frustrated over and over again and it looked like she lost the plot. But the Japanese shuttler found a way to get back in the zone to put up a fine comeback victory. 

That's the end. Yamaguchi stood strong through her initial struggles as PV Sindhu waned down in the final stretch. Its a defeat for the Indian shuttler. Lakshay Sen will be in action later in the day. 

Thailand Open Live Score: PV Sindhu 21–19, 18-21, 15, 21 A Yamaguchi  

That's tough if you are PV Sindhu. Akane Yamaguchi comes out on top to win the second game. 

Thailand Open Live Score: PV Sindhu 21–19, 18-21 A Yamaguchi  

Some quick thinking here from PV Sindhu. The two were dragging each other towards the extreme right side. But Sindhu calmy read the play and started moving to the other side to kill for the point and keep her in the race the second game.  

Thailand Open Live Score: PV Sindhu 21–19, 18-19 A Yamaguchi