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Lakshya Sen was knocked out of the BWF World Championships 2026 by world No. 92 Garret Tan of the United States, losing 21-19, 19-21, 17-21 in the men’s singles round of 32 in New Delhi. Ayush Shetty, who had already removed top seed Shi Yuqi, needed just 26 minutes to reach the last 16. Five of the sixteen seeds are already gone, and India’s hopes now rest on a 21-year-old.
New Delhi, India: The World Championships returned to India after seventeen years, and by the end of Wednesday the home men’s singles challenge had been halved — with the survivor being the one nobody had pencilled in.
Lakshya Sen came to the Indira Gandhi Arena seeded 14th, a bronze medallist at these championships in 2021, and a player who beat the world No. 1 at the All England as recently as March. He left the round of 32 beaten by an American ranked 92nd in the world.
Four Match Points, and a Change of Direction
Lakshya took the opening game 21-19 and, for long stretches, looked the better player. The pattern held into a second game that Tan edged by the same margin. Then the decider went badly wrong.
Tan raced to 11-4 by the mid-game interval. Lakshya’s response was the best passage of his match — a six-point burst that dragged him back to 17-16 and briefly threatened to strangle the upset at birth. But Tan steadied, pulled clear, and earned four match points at 20-16. Lakshya saved the first. The American converted the second.
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Tan’s explanation afterwards was disarmingly simple: he had been attacking one side repeatedly, noticed Lakshya was anticipating it, and in the closing points he changed direction. It worked.
Shetty’s 26-Minute Statement
The consolation, and it is substantial, is Ayush Shetty. The world No. 22 dismissed Sri Lanka’s Dumindu Abeywickrama 21-8, 21-10 in 26 minutes to reach the round of 16.
It continued a week that has already produced the tournament’s defining result. On the opening day Shetty beat top seed and defending champion Shi Yuqi 21-14, 13-21, 21-19 in an hour and thirteen minutes, overturning an 0-3 head-to-head record against the world No. 1. The Asian Championships silver medallist, who lost to Shi in that final earlier this season, is now India’s sole survivor in the men’s draw.
The Seeds Keep Falling
Shi’s first-round exit was not the only casualty. Fifth seed Christo Popov also went out in the opening round, beaten by Kenta Nishimoto, and 16th seed Weng Hongyang fell to Japan’s Yushi Tanaka on day one.
Wednesday added two more. Alongside Lakshya, 12th seed Lin Chun-yi — the man who beat him in the All England final in March — was eliminated in straight games by Rasmus Gemke, 21-13, 21-17, 21-11.
Five of the sixteen seeds are therefore gone before the last 16, and the tournament has no defending champion left in it.
Who Made It Through
Anders Antonsen survived the tightest contest of the day, edging Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen 21-23, 21-19, 23-21. Jonatan Christie also needed three games, recovering to beat Teh Jia Heng 19-21, 21-19, 21-11, while Loh Kean Yew, the 2021 champion, came from a game down to see off Lee Cheuk Yiu 15-21, 21-17, 21-15.
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Elsewhere the seeds were untroubled. Chou Tien-chen beat Giovanni Toti 21-12, 21-11, Li Shifeng edged Leong Jun Hao 21-19, 21-19, Alwi Farhan dismissed Joakim Oldorff 21-12, 21-9, Kodai Naraoka saw off Harry Huang 21-16, 21-14, and Victor Lai overwhelmed Mark Shelley Alcala 21-7, 21-14. Yushi Tanaka, having removed 16th seed Weng Hongyang on the opening day, continued with a 21-18, 21-14 win over Ade Resky Dwicahyo.
Tan’s reward for removing Lakshya is a last-16 meeting with second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the 2023 world champion — a considerable step up, and the kind of draw that tends to end dream runs.
What It Means for India
Everything now runs through Shetty. Having already beaten the tournament’s top seed, he carries the host nation’s only realistic men’s singles medal hope into a draw that has lost five of its sixteen seeds — and which looks, from an Indian vantage point, more open than it did on Monday morning.
Results — Round of 32, Men’s Singles
[3] J. Christie d. T. Jia Heng 19-21, 21-19, 21-11
[4] A. Antonsen d. N. Nguyen 21-23, 21-19, 23-21
[6] C. Tien-chen d. G. Toti 21-12, 21-11
[7] V. Lai d. M. S. Alcala 21-7, 21-14
[8] L. Shifeng d. L. Jun Hao 21-19, 21-19
[10] K. Naraoka d. H. Huang 21-16, 21-14
[11] A. Farhan d. J. Oldorff 21-12, 21-9
[13] L. Kean Yew d. L. Cheuk Yiu 15-21, 21-17, 21-15
A. Shetty d. D. Abeywickrama 21-8, 21-10
G. Tan d. [14] L. Sen 19-21, 21-19, 21-17
R. Gemke d. [12] L. Chun-yi 21-13, 21-17, 21-11
Y. Tanaka d. A. R. Dwicahyo 21-18, 21-14
Venue: Indira Gandhi Arena, New Delhi
