KUALA LUMPUR: The resurgence of India's Lakhsya Sen is bad news for Malaysian badminton.
Lakhsya's impressive journey to the French Open semi-finals means that the injured Ng Tze Yong will drop out of the top 16 in the Race to Paris standings.
As of this week's rankings, Lakhsya sits at No. 17, just one spot below Tze Yong, whose ranking has been declining since October last year, holding onto No. 16 for the past three weeks.
Buoyed by his remarkable victory over world No. 3 Li Shi Feng of China in the last 16, Lakhsya advanced to the semi-finals by defeating Singapore's Loh Kean Yew 19-21, 21-15, 21-13 on Friday.
Lakhsya will play reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand on Saturday.
By advancing this far, Lakhsya is projected to rise to No. 15. However, if he continues progression and wins the title, he could climb as high as No. 12.
Despite being the World Championships bronze medallist in 2021, Lakhsya experienced a dip in form last year, failing to secure a single World Tour victory in eight tournaments from September to January.
The timing of Tze Yong's return to competitive action remains uncertain.
Even if he does return, it will be challenging for him to perform at his best.
Tze Yong recently underwent minor surgery to address a spinal disc injury, requiring a recovery period of two to six weeks.
As of now, the earliest opportunity for Tze Yong to make his comeback would be at the Spain Masters from March 26-31, where his name still appears on the entry list updated on March 5.
Following that, Tze Yong's final chance to make an impact would be at the Asia Championships from April 9-14.
To secure a spot alongside Lee Zii Jia, who currently holds the No. 10 ranking, as the second men's singles qualifier for the Paris Olympics, Tze Yong must reclaim his position in the top 16.
A nation can qualify two representatives in the singles event if both are ranked in the top 16 of the Race to Paris standings by the end of April.
