King Cup International Badminton Open 2024: Lakshya Sen beats Alex Lanier to finish third

India’s Lakshya Sen finished third in the King Cup International Badminton Open 2024 after beating French shuttler Alex Lanier at Shenzhen, the People’s Republic of China, on Sunday.

Sen, India’s best-placed singles player in the badminton rankings at world No. 12, beat world No. 18 Lanier by a 21-17, 21-11 scoreline in the third-place playoff match.

The Indian badminton player had entered the third place matchup after losing to China’s Hu Zhe'an, the reigning junior world champion and world No. 1, in the semi-finals.

Sen had earlier beaten Hong Kong China’s Angus Ng Ka Long in the quarters.

Lanier, who lost to Denmark’s Anders Antonsen in the semis to be drawn against the Indian shuttler in Sunday’s match, was the early aggressor and led by a single point at the midway stage of the opening game.

Sen, however, came roaring back after the restart to take the lead in the match. The second game was a one-way affair in the favour of the Indian.

This was the first-ever clash between the two players.

Zhe'an and Antonsen are set to play the final later in the day.

This is the inaugural edition of the King Cup badminton tournament, launched by two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of China. The tournament features a men’s singles competition with eight players in the fray.

The King Cup International Badminton Open does not offer ranking points and is not a part of the BWF calendar.

Lakshya Sen, who made the semi-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, was India’s only representative in the invitational tournament.