Lakshya Sen displaced as World No. 1 in latest BWF Junior Rankings

In the latest update of the BWF Junior World rankings, 16-year-old Indian badminton prodigy Lakshya Sen was displaced from the number one spot, a mark he has held since February this year. He has been replaced by Kunlavut Vitidasarn of Thailand, who overtook Sen thanks to his title-winning performance at the Yonex Sunrise India Junior International Grand Prix 2017.

He gained a massive 3,500 ranking points thanks to his victory in the India Junior GP, where he defeated two Indians in the semifinals and finals. He started off his campaign with a walkover win over India's Nikhil Sriram and then defeated Hiroki Midorikawa in the second round.

In the quarter final, China's Guo Xinwa was beaten in three games 17-21 21-14 21-11. The semifinal featured another tight contest as the Thai shuttler defeated Kartikey Gulshan Kumar, the fifth seed, 21-16 19-21 21-16 before defeating qualifier Rahul Bharadwaj 21-16 21-11 in the final.

For Sen, it marks the end of a 31-week run on the top of the charts, a position he gained on February 2. However, he is expected to reclaim the spot next week if he can continue his good form in the ongoing Vietnam Open GP.

The youngster is in a rich vein of form and created history last month as he clinched his first-ever title on foreign soil by winning the Bulgaria Open International Series crown. He notched up a fine win over Croatian Zvonimir Durkinjak in the final, recording a comeback and taking the final 18-21, 21-12, 21-17. He received a whopping 2500 ranking points for his efforts in Sofia and will be wanting to back it up with another strong finish in Vietnam.

Sen has also constantly risen up the charts in the senior rankings, currently standing at 137. The 16-year-old was ranked outside the top 1000 last year but in December 2016, he shot up to 381 and has been on the surge since.