All England Open 2026: Lakshya Sen Stages Massive Upset In Opening round, Defeats Defending Champion Shi Yuqi

India’s Lakshya Sen produced the biggest shock of the opening day at the All England Open 2026, getting the better of top seed and defending champion Shi Yuqi of China in the men’s singles first round on Tuesday. Sen, the 2022 finalist, battled past the reigning world champion 23-21, 19-21, 21-17 in a gruelling contest that lasted an hour and 18 minutes.

Also advancing to the second round were India’s mixed doubles pairing of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, who overcame the Malaysian duo of Hoo Peng Ron and Cheng Su Yin 21-17, 21-19.

But the day undoubtedly belonged to Sen. The 24-year-old, whose only win over the Chinese before this match came in the Asian Games team championships, kept the pressure on his much-experienced opponent with an aggressive plan in the opening game and looked like he could run away after taking a 17-10 lead. But the defending champion fought his way back into the game and made it 18-17. Sen once again grabbed the initiative to earn three game points but the Chinese not only saved those but also another one before the Indian pocketed the game.

Shi was the aggressor in the second game and it was Sen who had to fight back from a 13-19 deficit. However, his effort was not enough to avoid a decider.

In the third and final game, Sen controlled the net brilliantly and also dominated the flat exchanges to open up a 16-11 advantage before earning four match points. Shi saved one of them but his lift sailed long to hand the match to Sen.

Meanwhile, Malvika Bansod’s campaign ended with a 21-11, 21-6 loss against third seed Chen Yu Fei of China.

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