Odense (Denmark), Oct 19 (NationPress) India’s Lakshya Sen delivered an extraordinary performance, defeating the second seed and world number two, Anders Antonsen, in straight games to advance to the quarterfinals of the men’s singles at the ongoing badminton tournament on Thursday.

The world number 21, Sen, showcased remarkable composure and aggression, overpowering the Dane with scores of 21-13 and 21-14 in a swift 53-minute second-round match. The 23-year-old Indian shuttler displayed tactical maturity, skillfully mixing pace and control to keep Antonsen under constant pressure.

Sen had earlier kicked off his campaign with a confident victory against Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen in the opening round on Wednesday. His impressive performance now sets the stage for a quarterfinal matchup against the winner of the contest between Weng Hong Yang from China and Alex Lanier from France.

This victory marks one of Sen’s most convincing wins over a top-ranked opponent this season, emphasizing his steady return to form after facing injuries last year. His precise net play, powerful smashes, and clever variations in pace consistently left Antonsen struggling to find his rhythm throughout the match.

In another highlight, India’s leading men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, maintained their excellent form by securing a straight-games victory over the Chinese Taipei duo of Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan, thereby also advancing to the quarterfinals. The sixth-seeded Indian pair won with scores of 21-19 and 21-17 in a brisk 41-minute encounter.

Satwik and Chirag faced challenges in both games but demonstrated impressive composure during critical moments, leveraging their trademark aggressive net play and strong court coverage to maintain control.

Earlier, the duo had dispatched Scotland’s Christopher Grimley and Matthew Grimley in their first-round match on Wednesday.