Lakshya gives Lin Dan a scare before losing, Sai, Verma marches on

Teenage shuttler Lakshya Sen reaffirmed his status as one of India's rising talent as he gave legendary Lin Dan a scare before losing in three games at the Auckland Open Badmointon Championship, here today.

Up against two-time Olympic champion Dan, 17-year-old Lakshya gave a fantastic account of himself by pocketing the first game but eventually lost out on experience.

The Chinese calmly clawed back into the game to win the encounter 15-21 21-15 21-12 in a marathon second round men's singles match that lasted one hour and seven minutes.

"Good Match against the Legend Lin Dan......gave my best shot!! have realised that i still have a long way to go!! I would like to thank all the coaches of Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, OGQ, SAI for their support," Lakshya tweeted after the match.

Third seeded B Sai Praneeth and Sameer Verma however won their respective matches in straight games to enter the quarterfinals.

Sai Praneeth defeated Malaysia's Darren Liew 21-18 21-7, while fifth seed Sameer Verma got the better of Cheuk Yiu Lee of Hong Kong 21-17 21-19 to seal their last eight berths.

The other Indian male shuttler Ajay Jayram lost to Kwang Hee Heo of Korea 21-15 20-22 6-21 in another marathon second round match.

Sai Praneeth will next face Niluka Karunaratne of Sri Lanka but Verma will have tough task at hand against Lin Dan,