World No. 12 Lakshya Sen defeated the defending champion Shi Yuqi with a thrilling three-game 23-21, 19-21, 21-17 victory, securing his first-ever win over the Chinese star in a 78-minute battle.
It was an extra ordinary performance from the Indian, who faced one of the toughest draws in the opening round. Having never defeated Shi before, Sen rose to the occasion. He raced to an 11-7 lead in the first game and eventually sealed it 23-21.
Shi bounced back in the second game, overturning an early deficit to take a 13-10 lead before closing it out 21-19 and leveling the match.
This ain't his first rodeo🤠🔥
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) March 3, 2026
Lakshya breaks down his SEN-sational performance after knocking out World No. 1 and defending All England champion Shi Yu Qi in the first round! pic.twitter.com/otfG4GVlEX
In the decider, however, Sen brought his masterclass. After taking a narrow 11-9 lead at the interval, he maintained control and pulled away to seal the match 21-17. The 2022 finalist will now face Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka Long in the Round of 16 as he looks win his first and India's third title at the All England Open.
Earlier in the day, India’s top mixed doubles pair Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto secured a straight-game victory over Malaysia’s Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin, winning 21-17, 21-19.
The World No. 21 duo did not face much hurdle in the match, leading from the outset in the first game. The second game saw a brief fightback from the Malaysians, who narrowed the gap to 19-17, but Kapila and Crasto won four consecutive points to close out the match.
They will now take on seventh seeds Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong in the next round on Thursday.
India's Women's Campaign Ends At All England Open 2026
However, it wasn’t a perfect start for India overall. In women’s singles, both Unnati Hooda and Malvika Bansod exited in the opening round after facing tough opponents.
Hooda struggled in the first game, going down 12-21, but showed resilience in the second before eventually losing 18-21. Bansod, meanwhile, fell to third seed Chen Yu Fei in straight games, 11-21, 6-21.
India’s women’s singles campaign suffered a further blow as the two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu was forced to withdraw from the All England Open 2026 after being stranded in Dubai due to Middle East tensions that disrupted the airways.
In women’s doubles, the pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand endured a heartbreaking three-game loss to Japan’s Hobara and Sakuramoto, going down 15-21, 21-15, 18-21.