Star India shuttler Lakshya Sen dished out a badminton masterpiece to notch up his second BWF Super 500 title with a straight-game win over Li Shi Feng of China in the Canada Open final on Sunday.
The 21-year-old, who had claimed his maiden Super 500 title at the 2022 India Open, mixed incredible speed and power to outshine the reigning All England champion Shi Feng 21-18, 22-20 in the summit clash in Calgary.
“Coming into the Olympic qualification year, it was tough as things didn’t go my way. So this win will be a big boost to my confidence,” Sen said later.
“I had to dig deep in some matches, the conditions were different and getting used to it was important,” the ace shuttler said.
This was Sen’s first title since claiming his maiden gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in August last year. He is also the second singles player from the country to win a title this year, following HS Prannoy’s victory at Malaysia Masters in May.
Sen gave ample display of his temperament as he saved four game points in the second game to grab a championship point and sealed it on the very first opportunity with a smash. He then collapsed on the ground in relief and happiness after an intense match.
“It has been an amazing week for me. I got better as the event progressed, I got used to the conditions and played a good tactical game yesterday (Saturday) and today (Sunday), so I am happy with my performance,” Sen said.
“In the second game, it was quite difficult for me to predict anything as I was trailing all the way, so I just wanted to cover the lead. The key thing was to stay patient and in the end, everything worked well.”
The two shuttlers played some extraordinary rallies, filled with fast-paced exchanges at the net, and it was Sen who kept things tight to notch up his fifth win in seven meetings against the Chinese.
This win will be a much-needed boost for Sen, who had slipped to world No. 19 after struggling to find his form early in the season.
A former world No. 6, Sen, who claimed bronze at the 2021 World Championships, had undergone nose surgery for a deviated septum after the World Championships last August and took a lot of time to recover post-treatment.
In a battle of power and precision between the two youngsters, it was Sen who showed better control and temperament to come up trumps against the world No. 10 from China.
Sen kept it tight at the net and produced a series of down-the-line and cross-court smashes to trouble Shi Feng who fell behind 2-6 at the start of the opening game.
