New Delhi [India], August 19 (ANI): Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen credited a tactical change and better adaptation to the court conditions for his comeback victory over Austria's Collins Valentine Filimon at the BWF World Championships 2026 here on Tuesday.
Sen recovered from losing the opening game to beat Filimon 16-21, 21-8, 21-4 in 45 minutes at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium and advanced to the men's singles Round of 32.
The Indian struggled initially as Filimon's height allowed him to deal comfortably with Sen's shorter drives. Sen also found it difficult to control his lifts while playing from the side affected by the drift.
"In the first set, I was playing quite short in the drives, and the points weren't coming because he is tall and he was playing all those shots very easily, and I was getting stuck playing those shots. So, in the second set, I tried to open up the game a bit more. I mean, I took it to lifts, brought him into rallies, and then I was able to play my shots freely," Sen told reporters after the match.
The Austrian held an 11-10 lead at the interval and eventually took the opening game 21-16. Sen, however, altered his approach after the change of ends and quickly turned the contest around.
"Otherwise, in the first set there were many errors, and then the game plan was a bit different, but I changed a few things in the second and third sets, so the results were a bit different," he added.
Sen also pointed to the on-court conditions as a factor in his slow start.
"Yes, I think I started with the side which was windy. It was hard to control the shuttles on the lift, and a lot of my lifts were going quite short. Then in the second set I knew I was on a better end, so I could play my game freely," he said.
The adjustment proved decisive as Sen raced to an 11-1 lead in the deciding game after winning the second 21-8. He maintained his control through the decider and sealed it 21-4.
Sen's victory was among India's positives on a mixed second day at the home World Championships.
Unnati Hooda also progressed in women's singles with a 22-20, 21-16 win over Myanmar's Thet Htar Thuzar, while Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand reached the women's doubles Round of 16 after defeating USA's Lauren Lam and Allison Lee 21-15, 21-12.
India also suffered exits, with Kavipriya Selvam-Simran Singhi, Ruthvika Gadde-Rohan Kapoor and Ashith Surya-Amrutha Pramuthesh bowing out in doubles. (ANI)
"I tried to open up the game bit more": Lakshya Sen reveals tactical shift behind comeback win over Filimon in opening round
