New Delhi: India’s 20-year-old Lakshya Sen who made history at the 2021 BWF World Championships in Huelva, Spain in December 2021 of becoming the youngest Indian male shuttler to win a medal (bronze medal) at the world championships, created another history for Indian badminton on Sunday as he became the first Indian player to win the India Open on debut.
In his maiden India Open final appearance, Sen showed no fear against his friend, Loh Kean Yew who were both serving as the World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen’s sparring partners in Dubai a month after the Tokyo Olympics ended.
Sen knew Loh was brilliant in his defense, therefore, the Indian adjusted his favorite attacking play in the final by becoming more patient in rallies, and was waiting for the opportunity to kill. Loh had two chances to take the first game when he was leading 20-19, 22-21, but a judgment error at Loh’s left baseline corner cost him the first game, losing to Sen 22-24.
Towards the end of the second game, the Singaporean committed some unforced errors and provided some loose lifts instead of pushing the shuttlecock to the baseline allowing Sen to launch quick and hard smashes easily. The Indian scored the match point with a strong smash towards Loh’s right sideline to take the second set 21-17 and tossing his racket to the air to celebrate his win.
“I was a little nervous near the end of the second game. It feels good and I am happy to win. This is the biggest World Tour tournament that I have won,” said Sen after the match.
“Loh and I are good friends off the court. We spoke to each other after my long semi-final match,” added Sen.
In the men’s doubles final, Indonesia’s 2008 Beijing Olympics men’s doubles gold medalist – Hendra Setiawan committed 5 critical errors at the net when they were leading 20-19 in the second set to eventually lose to India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 16-21, 24-26.
The victory saw Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty become the first Indian men’s pair to ever win the India Open. The pair had won its first Super 500 tournament at the 2019 Thailand Open.
