Lakshya Sen's Early French Open Exit Highlights Rollercoaster Season

In a surprising turn at the French Open 2025, India's Lakshya Sen experienced an early exit, losing to Ireland's Nhat Nguyen in straight games during the opening round of the men's singles. Competing at the Glaz Arena in Cesson-Sevigne, world-ranked No. 16 Sen succumbed to the No. 29-ranked Nguyen, who clinched a 7-21, 16-21 victory in just 43 minutes, as reported by Olympics.com.

Nguyen dominated from the outset, quickly establishing a 5-1 advantage with a series of swift points. Although Sen paused the Irishman's momentum momentarily, trailing only 6-11 at the mid-game interval, Nguyen wrapped up the first game with ease. The second game echoed the first, as Nguyen forged a 6-1 lead early on. Sen managed to reduce the gap to 7-5, but Nguyen's consistent scoring streaks resulted in an 11-7 lead at the break, ultimately proving too formidable for Sen to overcome.

This match marked the fourth encounter between the two players, with Nguyen triumphing over Sen for the first time. Consequently, Sen has now encountered 11 first-round exits in 17 BWF World Tour events this season. Despite this setback, Sen recently showcased his skills by reaching the final of the Hong Kong Open and advancing to the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open, including victories over Nguyen and world No. 2 Anders Antonsen.

Elsewhere, Indian players saw success. In mixed doubles, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde secured a pre-quarterfinal spot by defeating Ukraine's Oleksii Titov and Yevheniia Kantemyr 21-12, 21-19 in the round of 32. The pair is set to face world No. 6 French duo Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue. Meanwhile, men's doubles team Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who were runners-up at recent events in Hong Kong and China, will begin their French Open campaign in pursuit of their first title this season. (ANI)