Lakshya Sen won a “lucky point” during his 2025 BWF World Championships first round match against world No 1 Shi Yu Qi in Paris on Monday.
Sen, who was trailing 17-21, 18-19 in second game, was handed a point after the umpires failed to notice a bumped shuttlecock.
A cross-court drop shot from Shi hit the ground before a stretched Sen returned the shuttle to other side of the court. The Chinese shuttler was taken aback and tried to close off the rally with a smash.
Shi’s shot, however, went into the net and Sen was awarded a point as the chair umpire failed to notice that the shuttle had indeed touched the ground before Sen’s return.
Shi was adamant that the shuttle hit the court and was seen pleading to the umpire, who remained unimpressed. Sen also stood his ground unfazed.
Replays showed that the umpires had failed to pick up the shuttle hitting the ground.
“What a great point from Shi Yu Qi. If they got this on the big screen, which I don’t think they have, he would be outraged,” the commentator said about the replay.
“I can tell you one thing as a player, Lakshya Sen absolutely 100% knows it bounced in front of him,” he said to laughter from his co-commentator.
The error in judgement could have turned the tides for Sen in the match, but it wasn’t to be.
The Indian soon lost the very next point as he hit the shuttle into the net. The commentators termed this “karma.”
“There you go. Maybe a little bit of karma,” the commentators said almost in sync.
Sen lost the match 17-21, 19-21 in straight games to face a first round exit from the 2025 BWF World Championships.
