2023 French Open: Indian results at the end of day two

Modified Oct 25, 2023 20:18 IST

Lakshya Sen failed to make it to the second round of the French Open

The second day of the BWF French Open Super 750 brought two major upsets for Indian badminton fans as both Srikanth Kidambi and Lakshya Sen, the only two Indians in action today, failed to make it past their opening rounds.

Lakshya Sen was the first to take to the court in Rennes, where he squared off against French World No. 44 Arnaud Merkle. Even though these players hadn't faced each other in the senior BWF circuit, Lakshya was the favorite for the win going into the match.

However, Merkle defied expectations from the very beginning of the match, starting with a lead in the first game. Lakshya was able to stay on the home player's heels until the interval, but a quick burst of energy saw Arnaud take a 16-12 lead, before sealing the deal 21-15.

The second game was vastly different, as the two shuttlers stayed neck and neck on the scoreboard throughout. While the Frenchman did grab a 17-14 lead, Lakshya Sen was quick to close the gap. Unfortunately for Indian fans, the momentum didn't quite continue for Sen as Arnaud raced to a 21-18 victory.

The next Indian in action at the 2023 French Open was former World No. 1 Srikanth Kidambi. Kidambi was facing another home favorite, Toma Junior Popov.

While ranked below Kidambi, Toma did beat the All-England and Asian Games champion Li Shi Feng just a week ago at the Denmark Open. Safe to say the Frenchman managed to pull off another upset today as he beat Srikanth in straight sets.

The first game of the match started off as a close ordeal before Toma stole the show with his flats and clinched the set 21-17. He kept that energy going in the second game, and dominated the scoreboard to register a 21-15 win.