Ace Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen secured third place at the King Cup International Badminton Open 2024 after defeating French opponent Alex Lanier in Shenzhen, China, on Sunday.
Sen, India’s best-placed singles player at world No. 12, triumphed over world No. 18 Lanier with a 21-17, 21-11 scoreline in the third-place playoff match.
The Indian badminton player advanced to the third place match after losing to China’s Hu Zhe’an, the reigning junior world champion and current world No 1, in the semi-finals.
Earlier in the tournament, Sen defeated Hong Kong China’s Angus Ng Ka Long in the quarter-finals.
Lanier, who lost to Denmark’s Anders Antonsen in the semi-finals, faced Sen in Sunday’s playoff. The French player started strongly and held a slim lead at the midway stage of the opening game.
However, Sen made a commanding comeback after the restart to seize control of the match. The second game was entirely dominated by the Indian shuttler.
This was the first-ever clash between the two players. Hu Zhe’an and Antonsen are set to compete in the final later in the day.
The King Cup International Badminton Open is a newly introduced tournament, initiated by two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of China. The competition features a men’s singles event with eight players participating.
