Lakshya Sen rallies past Filimon after early scare to enter second round at BWF World Championships

Lakshya Sen had to dig deep before finding his rhythm, but once the Indian star got going, there was little his opponent could do. Sen bounced back from a first-game setback to defeat Austria's Collins Valentine Filimon 16-21, 21-8, 21-4 in 45 minutes and book his place in the second round of the BWF World Championships in New Delhi on Tuesday. The 14th-seeded Indian shuttler looked unsettled early on as Filimon kept the rallies tight and repeatedly tested him. But Sen made the necessary tactical adjustments after dropping the opening game and turned the contest completely on its head.

Sen never quite managed to settle during the first game. The Austrian kept the Indian player under pressure as the two shuttlers remained locked in a close battle before Filimon suddenly surged ahead. A run of six unanswered points pushed Filimon's lead to 17-12. Sen attempted to claw his way back, but his opponent stayed composed, kept the shuttle in play and capitalised on the Indian's errors to take the opening game 21-16. It was a frustrating start for Sen but the Indian shuttler quickly realised that he needed to change the pattern of the match.

The second game began competitively, with the scores tied at 7-7. That was when Sen began opening up the rallies and bringing his attacking game into play. The shift immediately made a difference as he moved ahead 11-8 and then completely took charge, winning 10 points in a row. Filimon suddenly found himself struggling to keep pace as Sen's court coverage and attacking strokes began to dictate the exchanges. Sen closed out the second game 21-8 to force a decider, having transformed the momentum of the match within minutes.

There was little left of the uncertainty that had marked the opening game once the decider began. Sen continued to attack, while Filimon increasingly struggled to deal with the Indian's pace and precision. The Indian shuttler quickly opened up a huge advantage and went on to dominate the final game 21-4. After being pushed hard in the opener, Sen had produced a remarkable turnaround to seal his place in the next round.

Speaking after the match, Sen admitted that his initial approach was not working against Filimon and said he had to alter his tactics. "Yes, I think in the first set, I was playing very short. When I was going for drives, I wasn't getting any points because he's tall and he can easily play those shots. In the second set, I tried to open up the game a bit more. I took a few lifts game in the rallies and then I was able to play my shots," Sen told PTI after the match.

25-year-old shuttler also acknowledged that too many mistakes had crept into his game early on. "Otherwise, in the first set, there were a lot of errors. The game plan was a bit different, but I changed a few things in the second and third sets. The game that I was playing was not right. I think I had to open up the game a bit more, get him into rallies. In the second set, I did that. He was just taking advantage of it (height) and I had to cover the court more," he added.

Sen felt the conditions at the venue also contributed to his early difficulties. He said controlling his lifts was particularly challenging from one side of the court. "Yes, I think I started with a side which was windy, so it was hard to control the shuttles on the lift. A lot of my lifts were going quite short. In the second set, I knew I am on a better end, so I could play my game freely," he added.

Sen will now meet USA's Garret Tan in the second round. Tan advanced after defeating Switzerland's Tobias Kuenzi 21-4, 21-15. With the home crowd behind him in New Delhi, Sen will look to carry the momentum from his comeback into the next round.