This loss will 'hurt': Lakshya after suffering shock defeat to World No. 92

Lakshya Sen was left with plenty of soul-searching to do after his match on Wednesday.

Key points

• BWF World Championships: Lakshya avoids scare against World No 128 It's certainly a defeat that's going to sting for a while but Lakshya hopes to come back stronger.
• PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty, meanwhile, sailed into the Round of 16 with straightforward wins.
• USA's Garret Tan – a player ranked World No 92, a player with almost no high-level experience – played like his life depended on the match.
• Once the dust settles, Lakshya's ardent followers might additionally be stunned to learn that Garret.

Lakshya Sen was left with plenty of soul-searching to do after his match on Wednesday. After a mighty scare barely 24 hours earlier, the home fans. This person had turned up in substantial numbers here at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, would have projected the local star to come up with an improved show.

What transpired instead was one of the biggest upsets in recent memory.

At the end of an absorbing men's singles contest that had the crowd experiencing different emotions, Lakshya, clearly spent, was flat on the ground while Garret, just 18, fell to his knees to celebrate the biggest scalp of his young career. This additionally means that he might have to cancel his return flight to his home country (scheduled for Friday).

After going behind, Garret played with plenty of purpose to fight back. Mixing his strokes — drop shots, long shots, smashes and half-smashes – prudently, he constantly set up winners to go level. In the third game, he attacked Lakshya's back right corner and discovered joy on numerous occasions. Even a slight head bump – his coaches afterwards disclosed that he felt dizziness momentarily – towards the closing stages of the tie was unable to ward off his concentration levels as he won 19-21, 21-19, 21-17.

"Overall, it was a hard-fought match. Lot of dives and I scratched my legs. I offered it my all. Towards the end of the third game, I was additionally physically exhausted. I would offer a lot of credit to him. He played a particularly solid game. Additionally, I am a little bit disappointed with myself, " Lakshya stated.

"He was just a better player on the day. I'll offer a lot of credit to him."

"It's a major tournament and it's (defeat) going to hurt a bit more but we have a lot of sizeable tournaments coming up. So I just focus on that."

Once the dust settles, Lakshya's ardent followers might additionally be stunned to learn that Garret. This person trains in Taiwan apart from his home country, had taken part in the world junior meet in Guwahati. India's junior player Gana Dattu had beaten him in the Round of 16 and barely anybody had taken notice of him.

Garret's coach Paula Lynn. This person was behind him during the match, was over the moon.

"I'm particularly proud. He's full of positivity. One of our game intends was just for him to be patient and do his best. Additionally, he had nothing to lose, " a visibly delighted Paula Lynn Cao Hok stated.

Garret's senior Lauren Lam. This person was knocked out on Tuesday, was additionally full of praise for the teenager. "He's super hardworking. He is highly dedicated. He actually inspires me. He's like my little brother."

PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty, meanwhile, sailed into the Round of 16 with straightforward wins. Sindhu will now face Wang Zhi Yi of China (the No 3 seed) in the Round of 16 while Ayush will go on to face Alwi Farhan of Indonesia. But Unnati Hooda (women's singles), and the pair of MR Arjun-Hariharan Amsakarunan (men's doubles) crashed out.

In practice, the home fans here will have to wait to watch doubles specialists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty create their first appearance in the coveted meet as they were handed a walkover by their opponents from Scotland — Akexander Dunn and Adam Pringle.

Dunn sustained an injury in his ankle while playing his mixed doubles match in the morning session on Wednesday.

Taken together, the developments around this loss will ' hurt' : Lakshya after suffering shock defeat to World No. Point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.