Lakshya Sen - The rising star of Indian badminton

Lakshya Sen defeated Weng Hong Yang of China in the finals of the Super 100 SaarLorLux Open played in Germany on Sunday. 

Sen won the match by 17-21, 21-18, 21-16 to win his 2nd successive title. In the first game, the Indian had a great start, taking a 14-11 lead, but could not maintain the pressure on the Chinese and lost 17-21. 

In the 2nd game, Sen played with aggression and took an 8-4 lead. The Indian quickly moved to a 13-6 lead before the Chinese reduced the gap to 10-14. Sen managed to hold his nerves and won the 2nd set 21-18 to force the match into a decider. 

The third game saw Lakshya trail by 5-7 but managed to level the scores at 10-10. After the interval, the Chinese moved into a 16-13 lead. Sen then increased his pace and took 8 points in succession to win the game and match at 21-16. 

After this tournament, Sen is set to break into the Top 50 of rankings to be released on Tuesday. It was a memorable tournament for Lakshya. 

After being given a bye in the first round, Sen defeated Eetu Heino of Finland in three gruelling sets by 18-21, 21-18, 22-20 to move into the third round. It was an impressive performance by the young Indian who played with great fighting spirit and made life tough for the opponent. 

He was given a walkover by his opponent in the third round and moved into the quarterfinals. Sen cruised to an easy victory over his German opponent Max Weisskirchen in two straight sets by 21-13, 21-16 to move into the semi-finals stage. 

In an all-Indian semi-final against Kiran George, Sen proved his worth and won the match in three sets at 21-13, 14-21, 21-9 to move into the finals. 

Sen had won his first BWF title in the Super 100 Dutch Open this month. With the likes of Kidambi Srikanth in poor form, the young Indian can spring a surprise on fancied opponents and become a star in the Indian badminton circuit.

Cover image credits: Hindustan Times