Lakshya Sen of India won his first Super 500 title on Sunday with a dramatic straight-game victory against reigning world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the men’s singles final at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open.
Sen, 20, who won his first global championships medal with a bronze medal in Spain last month, outplayed the fifth-seeded shuttler 24-22 21-17 in the summit duel that lasted 54 minutes.
- Lakshya Sen, a teen, first made headlines five years ago. He was a third-generation badminton player from Almora, Uttarakhand, who had risen to the top of the junior world rankings.
- Since then, Sen has made headlines regularly by winning junior titles and then senior-level.
- The majority of the senior titles, on the other hand, were won at lower-tier events where few big names usually compete.
- On his debut at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, that changed on Sunday when Sen announced his arrival on the big stage by winning the $400,000 India Open, a Super 500 event.
Rivalry between friends
Sen, 24, is close friends with Loh, 24. They both have very similar career paths. They are ranked close (Sen is 15 and Loh is 17), have won multiple titles in the lower tiers, and will receive significant recognition at the 2021 World Championships.
On their way back from Spain last month, the two kept in touch, exchanged messages on Instagram, and even discussed how they were praised in their respective countries.
Chirag-Satwik Victory
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy upset top-placed and three-time world champions Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan 21-16, 26-24 in 43 minutes to claim one of the biggest wins of their careers.
The second seeds saved five-game points in five meetings and converted their only championship point to earn their second victory over the Indonesian World No.2 duo.
“We knew they were tired and willing to take chances.” “We kept things tight, and it worked,”
said – Rankireddy.
Satwik and Chirag entered the tournament with a 1-3 head-to-head record against their opponents, but they put up a brave fight to stave off the Indonesians and win the final.
From almost missing the tournament due to erroneous COVID positive results to winning the title, the Indian pair had a fantastic start to 2022.
These are vital ranking points ahead of a hectic season that includes big-ticket tournaments such as the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.
The Indian pair got off to a good start, and even though the Indonesian combo rallied back, Satwik and Chirag made sure they were two points ahead at the half.
Conclusion
The three Indian stars, Lakshya Sen, Chirag Shetty, and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, really made their country proud by winning their respective final matches, and mind it that the competition was not easy at all.
Lakshya Sen was up against world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore. Satvik and Chirag were up against three-time world champions Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan.
So our players were against outstanding players, and they still outplayed them to win the finals.
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