Commonwealth Games champion Indian badminton star Lakshya Sen reached the summit clash of the Canada Open Super 500 tournament in Calgary as he brushed aside the challenge from Japanese shuttler Kenta Nishimoro in straight sets.
The Almora-born youngster reached his first BWF summit clash in over a year with the win over his Japanese counterpart with a decisive 21-17, 21-14 win in the final four of the men’s singles event in Canada.
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Sen started slowly as he conceded a four-point advantage to his opponent in the opening game of the semis, before practicing patient rallies to draw level at 8-each.
Nishimoro had a slight advantage going into the break in the first game as the Japanese star was a point ahead at 11-10, but Sen came back strong after the break and landed his stinging smashes perfectly to claim the opening game with a score of 21-17.
The second game was fought on an even keel till the scores were 9-all. But, the Indian took the initiative from there on out to establish a commanding 19-11 lead before he closed out the game at 21-14 to reach the championship encounter.
This is also Sen’s second Super 500 summit clash in his fledgling career.
The 21-year-old was on a purple patch before he had to undergo a surgical procedure for a deviated septum in his nose in August 2022, after which his form took a hit, due to the process of recovery.
The 2021 World Championships bronze medallist will take on China’s Li Shi Feng in the title decider on Sunday.
Sen, the former world number 6 has slipped to world number 19 after struggling in the early part of the year but hopes to get things back on track as he gears up to take on the Chinese shuttler in the summit clash.
Sen’s last final was the one he won during the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and will be hoping to take inspiration from the gold at the multi-sport event in Birmingham.
Sen has a commanding 4-2 head-to-head record over his final opponent Li Shi Feng, and will be looking to further extend the gap between himself and the Chinese badminton star, in a replay of their encounter at the Thailand Open, in which Sen pipped out the 23-year-old from China.
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Sindhu Ousted
However, ace Indian women’s shuttler PV Sindhu had to endure a damning loss in the final four of the singles event against world no. 1 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan.
The two-time Olympic medallist from Hyderabad went down 14-21, 15-21 in a tame performance as she failed to break her down-streak since the beginning of the year with a march to the finals.
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