Sports: Calgary proves lucky for Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen

Upcoming Indian badminton star Lakshya Sen could not have asked for more. Playing before a strong crowd of badminton followers of Indian origin, Lakshya Sen dished out superb skills and nerves of steel to defeat Li Shi Feng of China in the final of the BWF Super 500 tournament in Calgary on Sunday evening. It was a straight set win for the Indian star.

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 in Calgary on Sunday.

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.

Olympics double medallist PV Sindhu lost in the semi-finals in the women’s singles.

“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 in his post-match conference. “I had to dig deep in some matches, the conditions were different and getting used to it was important,” the young Indian shuttler said.

It may be pertinent to mention that Lakshya Sen had made the gold medal round in the prestigious all England badminton championship also.

Sen’s welcome return to form  was so evident as he  gave ample display of his temperament.  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 and today, so I am happy with my performance,” Sen told the media.

“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 be patient and in the end, everything worked well.”

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.

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 Li who fell behind 2-6 at the start of the opening game.

The duo played a high-speed game with both dishing out some eye-catching jump smashes. While Li sent down two 390kmph smashes, Sen unleashed a couple of 400 kmph thunderbolts.

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.

“He (Li) is a tough opponent, always expecting a good match against him. The way I played today, I was dominating the net and he was also attacking. But I managed to win the crucial points,” Sen said.

The BWF World Tour is divided into six levels, namely World Tour Finals, four Super 1000, six Super 750, seven Super 500, and 11 Super 300.

One other category of the tournament, the BWF Tour Super 100 level, also offers ranking points.