Shuttler Lakshya beats China’s Li Shi Feng in final

CALGARY: Star Indian 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 final of the Canada Open.

The 21-year-old Indian, who had claimed his maiden Super 500 title at the 2022 India Open, mixed incredible speed and power to outshine reigning All England champion Feng 21-18, 22-20 in a thrilling summit clash here on Sunday.

“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 after the win.

“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.

The two players 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.

Sen kept it tight at the net and produced a series of down-the-line and cross-court smashes to trouble Li who fell behind 2-6 at the start of the opening game. At the mid-game interval, Sen managed to hold a three-point cushion after Li failed to negotiate a body return from the Indian.

Both the players sent down a series of hard smashes from the back to gather points but unforced errors saw Li trail 12-15. He managed to level par at 15-15 but Sen grabbed three game points with another trademark straight smash.

Another precise return on his opponent’s forehand helped him earn the bragging rights.

The Chinese waited for his opportunity, engaging Sen in some sensational rallies at the net and pounced on anything weak from the Indian. He grabbed the momentum after an initial duel which left them at 5-5 to soon enter the break with a four-point lead.

With Li winning the net battle, Sen tried to change his tactics and made it 13-14 at one stage. But the Chinese managed to move ahead and grabbed four game points with a powerful return which Sen miscued.

However, Sen showed his grit as a forehand body smash was followed by another hard smash. Li then faltered at the net and Sen followed it with another smash to level the score.

Another rally ended with a precise return on Li’s forehand as it was advantage Sen and the Indian sealed it with another power-packed smash in the end.

Sen, Sindhu eye title at US Open

Newly-crowned Canada Open champion Lakshya Sen will hope to continue his winning momentum while beginning his campaign at the US Open Super 300 badminton tournament starting here on Tuesday.

Sen turned around a health-related slump in form with a thrilling straight-game win over All England Champion Li Shi Feng in the finals of Canada Open on Sunday night. It was his first BWF title in 17 months and Sen will now train his eyes on US Open, where the third seeded Indian opens against Finland’s Kalle Koljonen.

Tokyo Olympian B Sai Praneeth, who is going through a poor run of form, will face a tall task of taming second seed and world number 10 Feng, who reached the finals in Calgary. In women’s singles, double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, seeded third, will continue her quest for a first title of the season when she opens her campaign against a qualifier.

The Indian had reached the finals of Madrid Spain Masters this year and is coming into the tournament after a good outing at Canada, where she reached the semifinals. While Thailand’s former world champion Ratchanok Intanon, the top seed, is in the same half as Sindhu, the field also has some good players such as second seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan, fourth seed Beiwen Zhang and eighth seed Line Christophersen.