King Cup International Badminton Open 2024: Lakshya Sen rallies to beat Angus Ng Ka Long in opener

India’s top-ranked men’s singles shuttler Lakshya Sen progressed to the semi-finals of the King Cup International Badminton Open 2024 in Shenzhen, the People’s Republic of China, with his maiden victory over Angus Ng Ka Long on Friday.

Sen, 12th in the badminton rankings, defeated his world No. 17 opponent with a 10-21, 21-13, 21-13 scoreline after overcoming a slow start in the opening match.

After going down in the first game easily, the Indian badminton player pulled his act together to win the second game. With momentum on his side, Sen raced to a three-point lead before the final mid-game interval. While Angus Ng Ka Long’s speed kept him in the hunt, multiple unforced errors at the net cost him the contest.

This was Sen’s first win over Angus Ng Ka Long in four meetings. The two players last met at the Malaysia Masters in 2023 which Ng Ka Long Angus won 21-14, 21-19.

This is the inaugural edition of the King Cup badminton tournament, launched by two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of China. The tournament is exclusively for the men’s singles 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.

In the semi-finals on Saturday, Lakshya Sen will take on 18-year-old Chinese youngster Hu Zhe An, who beat former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the other match. Hu Zhe'an is 183rd in the senior rankings but is the reigning junior world champion and junior world No. 1.

Paris 2024 silver medallist and the reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, Denmark’s world No. 2 Anders Antonsen, Frenchman Alex Lanier and China’s Wang Zi Jun are the remaining players competing in the King Cup. The tournament follows a single-elimination format.

An exhibition game between legends Lin Dan and Taufik Hidayat will be played on Saturday.