Sen stuns world no 3 Antonsen to enter All England quarterfinals; Sindhu, Saina & Srikanth out
Birmingham(PTI): World Championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen stunned world No. 3 Anders Antonsen of Denmark in straight games to progress to the men's singles quarterfinals but it was curtains for Olympic medallists PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal at the All England Championships here on Thursday.
Sen, the 20-year-old from Almora, who had claimed his maiden Super 500 title at India Open in January and then reached the finals of German Open last week, notched up an upset 21-16 21-18 win over third seed Antonsen.
Antonsen is a two-time medallist at World Championships in 2019 Basel and 2021 Huelva respectively. It was their first meeting at the international stage.
Sen will face China's Lu Guang Zu in the quarter-final.
Fifth seeded Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also entered the last eight stage after making short work of Mark Lamfuss and Marvin Seidel of Germany 21-7 21-7.
World no 7 Sindhu, however, made an early exit after going down 19-21 21-16 17-21 to left-handed Takahashi, ranked 13th, in an hour and six minutes second round match.
Saina Nehwal also bowed out after her gallant fight ended with a loss to second seed Japanese Akane Yamaguchi in a thrilling three-game match in the second round.
Former world No. 1 Saina, the London Olympics bronze medallist, lost 14-21 21-17 17-21 world No. 2 Yamaguchi in a 50-minute women's singles clash.
It was a much improved performance from the Indian, who had lost in straight games to Thailand's Ratchanok Inthanon at German Open last week.
Later in the day, World Championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth also bowed out after losing 21-9 18-21 19-21 to Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in a second round that last just over an hour.
In a significant result, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also entered the quarterfinal after their sixth seeded opponents Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu from Indonesia retired in the second game lagging 14-19 after winning the first game 21-18.
Sen's tactical nous
Sen gave ample display of his tactical acumen as he dished out a defensive game and kept Antonsen away from the net to lead 11-9 at the first break. He kept things under control after the interval to move to a 13-9 lead and maintained the lead to pocket the opening game.
Sen kept his clears close to the baseline and tried to use his smashes judiciously to jump to a 9-5 lead early on before grabbing a four-point advantage at the breather.
Antonsen fought his way back to 14-14, riding on six points on the trot. The duo moved 14-14 to 16-16 before Sen managed to eke out a two-point lead at 18-16.
He kept his nerves and unleased a cross court smash to grab three match points. Antonsen saved one after an exciting rally but the Indian shut the door next to make it to the last 8.
Coming into the match with an equal 4-4 head-to-head record, Sindhu was left to do the catch up job as Takahashi led the opening match for most part even though the Indian kept snapping at her heels and had levelled scores at 11-1 and 15-15 before moving to 19-20 at one stage.
Stung by the reversal, Sindhu came out all cylinders blazing, gallping to a huge 14-4 lead, a gap which the Japanese couldn't bridge as the Indian bounced back.
In the decider, Sindhu managed to open up a slender 8-6 lead but Takahashi soon turned the tables and then reeled off five straight points to jump to 15-10.
Sindhu tried to erase the deficit and made it 17-18 before the Japanese sealed the issued comfortably.
Sindhu had made a second round exit at German Open as welll.
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UP Cong holds statewide protest seeking probe into FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.
In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.
In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.
The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.
Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".
"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.
It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.
The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.
On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.
Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.
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