King Cup: Lakshya Sen stunned by China’s Hu Zhe'an in semis

World No. 12 Lakshya Sen, the top Indian men's singles player, was stunned by China’s Hu Zhe'an in the semifinals of the inaugural King Cup International Badminton Open 2024 at Shenzhen, the People’s Republic of China, on Saturday.

World No. 183 Hu Zhe'an, the current junior world No. 1 and world champion, defeated Lakshya in straight games (21-19, 21-19).

The Chinese shuttler matched Lakshya in an evenly poised first game from the very onset of the match as the two players were at par at 17-17 before the 18-year-old Hu Zhe'an marched ahead.

Lakshya, who made a fourth-place finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics, saved a game point. But Hu Zhe'an was not bogged down by the pressure and took the game.

Hu Zhe'an, who earlier stunned former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the opening round, gained the upper hand early in the second game and maintained a three-point lead at the interval.

Lakshya, however, fought back to draw level at 13-13 before claiming a three-point lead at 19-16.

Despite taking the lead, Lakshya could not avoid the straight-game defeat. Hu Zhe'an, with the help of his spectacular winners, won five successive points to win the second game and the match.

Hu Zhe'an will face off against Denmark’s Anders Antonsen, who beat French player Alex Lanier 21-15, 21-13 in the other semis clash, in the final.

Lakshya was India's only representative in the invitational event. Earlier, he beat Hong Kong China’s Angus Ng Ka Long in the quarterfinals.

The King Cup badminton tournament has been 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 tournament, however, is not part of the BWF calendar and does not offer any ranking points.