Lakshya Sen entered the final of the Canada Open Super 500 badminton tournament after defeating Japan's Kenta Nishimoto in the men’s singles semifinal while PV Sindhu exited the tournament after losing to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi
PV Sindhu (L), Lakshya Sen (R) (Pic: AFP)
Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen made an entry in the final of the Canada Open Super 500 badminton tournament after defeating Japan's Kenta Nishimoto in straight games in the men’s singles semifinal here while PV Sindhu exited the tournament after losing to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi.
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Sen, who has slipped to world number 19 after struggling to find his form in the season so far and making early exits in the past few tournaments, saw off the world number 11 Japanese 21-17 21-14 to enter his second Super 500 final and first BWF summit clash in over a year.
The 21-year-old Indian, who claimed a bronze at the 2021 World Championships, will face China's Li Shi Feng in the final on Sunday.
"It was a pretty bad start, I couldn't control the shuttle well. The moment I got the rhythm at the net (it got better). Near-perfect netplay was the key and we were both trying to do that," Sen said.
"Eventually I took control at the net, the smashes were also working. Overall, good tactical game I played and I'm happy with my performance."
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, however, couldn't produce her best and went down 14-21 15-21 to world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in her women's singles semifinal.
A former world number 6, Sen had undergone a nose surgery for a deviated septum after the World Championships last August and took a lot of time to recover post treatment.
Sen last played a final at the Commonwealth Games in August last year.
Sen has a 4-2 head-to-head record against his Li Shi Feng, the reigning All-England champion. Sen had defeated him recently at the Thailand Open.
Also Read: Thailand Open: Lakshya Sen loses to Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn in semi-final
Sen struggled to find his length early on and sprayed the shuttle long and at the net to find himself 0-4 down but he slowly engaged his rival in rallies by taking charge of the net to catch up at 8-8.
Nishimoto managed to hold a slender 11-10 lead at the interval after Sen sprayed one at the net but the Indian turned the tables soon after resumption and kept moving ahead.
His trademark smashes, net play and precision in returns helped him to stay a step ahead, as he wrapped up the game when his opponent hit long.
The second game started on an even note as the duo fought tooth and nail initially but, once again, Sen found his way as he was more alert. He kept a grip on the fast rallies.
From 2-2, the duo moved to 9-9 before Sen managed a two-point cushion at the break after Nishimoto hit long.
The Japanese sent the shuttle long even as Sen pounced on anything weak and produced some exquisite smashes to move to 19-11.
A body return earned Sen seven match points and he sealed it on the second attempt when Nishimoto found the net again.
"Plenty of Indian supporters in the stadium, they've been there from the first day so it's really good to play in here," Sen signed off.
(With PTI inputs)
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