It was a mixed day for Indian badminton at the French Open Super 750 on Tuesday as Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde made a strong start in mixed doubles, while Lakshya Sen suffered a disappointing first-round exit in men’s singles against Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen.
Lakshya, who came into the tournament on the back of a runner-up finish at the Hong Kong Open, looked far from his best and struggled for consistency throughout the match. The 24-year-old from Almora went down 7-21, 16-21 to world No. 29 Nhat Nguyen, marking an early end to his Paris campaign.
Right from the opening exchanges, Lakshya appeared out of rhythm. His deep tosses missed their marks, and his attacking game lacked sharpness. The Indian trailed 2-7 early in the first game and continued to make unforced errors, repeatedly hitting wide or into the net. Despite working hard to construct rallies, he faltered at the final shot, allowing Nhat to pull away comfortably. The Irish shuttler sealed the opener 21-7 with a crisp cross-court winner.
The change of ends brought little relief for Lakshya. Nhat raced to a 6-1 lead in the second game and held an 11-5 advantage at the interval as Lakshya’s misjudged shots and mistimed smashes persisted. Though the Indian mounted a brief recovery to close the gap to 11-15, his comeback was short-lived. A long rally ended with a backhand into the net, and two more errors handed Nhat six match points. Lakshya saved two but succumbed on the third, as Nhat clinched victory with another precise cross-court finish.
The result comes as a setback for Lakshya, especially after his win over the same opponent in a three-game thriller at the Denmark Open just last week. His inconsistency in Paris, however, proved costly against a confident and composed Nhat Nguyen.
In contrast, the Indian mixed doubles duo of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde delivered a commanding performance in their opener. They defeated Ukraine’s Oleksii Titov and Yevheniia Kantemyr 21-12, 21-19 to book their place in the next round.
Rohan and Ruthvika combined strong net play with quick defensive exchanges to dominate the first game and held their nerve in a tight second. The pair will now face a much tougher challenge against local favourites and fifth seeds Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue, the World Championships bronze medallists.
As Lakshya regroups from another early exit, Indian hopes in Paris now rest on Rohan and Ruthvika’s continued run in the tournament.
