9.53 pm: Sen’s defence continues to be standout and he will hope to maintain the same run of form at the All England too. The other area in which he continues to improve is his movement around the court. Much more assured and in control and that allows him to use his pace as a weapon too. And this is a tournament in which he beat Axelsen... he may have lost the title but one reckons he should have have still gained a lot from this deep run.
9.49 pm: A fine run by Lakshya Sen was overshadowed in the end by Kunlavut Vitidsarn. But the two 20-year-old’s put on a great show in the final and we can only expect them to get better in the coming year.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 15-21
Vitidsarn wins it! He stayed ahead throughout and did well to win. By the end, Sen was struggling with his movement due to blisters in his left foot.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 15-20
Five match points for the Thai!
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 15-18
Sen gets a challenge wrong and the lead is now three points. Vitid poised to finish this match off.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 14-17
Crosscourt smash by Vitid but Lakshya movement is now clearly compromised.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 13-16
Fantastic defence by Lakshya Sen. He soldiers on and is producing some very fine badminton. Vitid was sent sprawling as he tried to retrieve the last get.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 11-16
Lakshya off the court again. He wants some more treatment for the blister. This is not looking good. The rules allow the Indian to be treated twice for the same injury.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 10-15
Two easy points and the lead is now upto five points. Vitid controlling this very well.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 10-13
Brilliant reflex defensive play by Lakshya. Gets the shuttle back... some how!
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 9-12
Lovely deception by Vitid. Pushed it back with a flick of the wrist and left Lakshya scrambling. Easy finish after that.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 9-11
Close again. Each time it looks like Vitid is pulling away, Sen finds a way back into the game. Good stuff this!
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 8-11
Sen comes out on top in a quick, short exchange of shots. Gets the placement right.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 7-11
Sen needs to make his move now. Can’t leave it too late. The Indian is still moving well around the court despite the blisters.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 6-11
Sen gets a lot back but Vitid is in control here. Nice disguised push earned him the point here. Five-point lead at the break. A tough climb back into the match awaits Lakshya.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 5-10
One big smash from Vitid and then Lakshya sent a smash wide. Two quick points. Five-point gap.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 5-8
Short lift from Lakshya and Vitid smashes it down the middle of the court to break the run of points.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 5-7
Super defence! Another quick point. The five-point gap has been reduced to two.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 4-7
Lakshya coming back with some solid points of his own. This isn’t done. Not yet.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 2-7
Vitid pulling away quickly. Some quick short points coming his way.
Vinayakk Mohanarangan: Would be interesting to see how hard Lakshya Sen puts his foot on the pedal here if he has to. The blisters didn’t appear to be too bad but nothing worth risking his chances at All England I’d imagine.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 2-4
A successful challenge for Vitid restores a two-point lead.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 1-3
A nice crosscourt smash by Lakshya forces the error out of Vitid.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21, 0-3
A rocket start for the Thai star in the second game.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-21
Vitid wrong foots Lakshya and then finishes things with a crosscourt smash to take the first game. The Thai was in control early but Lakshya came back well in the second half and that should allow him to take confidence into the second game. The net points feel like a key area for the Indian.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-20
Lakshya getting some treatment for a blister on his left foot. Short break in play.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-20
A brilliant half-smash gets Vitid two game points.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 18-19
The Thai sends it just wide. Very close. No challenge. This is going down to the wire.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 17-19
A lovely body smash gives Vitid some breathing space.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 17-18
Vitid sends it well long and the challenge doesn’t help his case. A one-point game. So tight!
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 16-18
Vitid did everything right in that rally except the last shot. He defended well but Lakshya is making this a tight game.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 15-18
A good rally and this time the Thai wins it with some wonderful defence. Got his placement just right and Lakshya couldn’t return it. Three-point lead again.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 15-16
Another point at the net. Lakshya making this a one-point game.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 14-16
Lakshya wins a battle at the net. Got a lucky but that counts. Two-point game.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 13-16
Vitid’s lift is too short and Lakshya smash down the line is too good. Three-point gap!
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 12-16
Lakshya sends one into the net. An unforced error. Just when it seemed like he was primed to close the gap even further.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 12-15
What a point and what a way to win! A lovely crosscourt drop shot. Took Vitid by surprise. It didn’t come back. Lakshya getting stuck in!
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 11-15
Vitid sends a shuttle into the net. But a nice point by Lakshya, who is now starting to move his opponent around a lot more.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 10-14
Nice jump smash by Lakshya! Another point for the Indian but he needs more than this. He needs a run of points.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 9-14
But just as it seemed like Lakshya was getting it together, he sends a shuttle long.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 9-13
Vitid sends the shuttle wide and Lakshya claws back a few points.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 6-13
Axelsen was having trouble setting up his attacks but Vitid having no such issues yet. Very nice play by the young Thai.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 6-11
Vitid goes into the mid-game leading 11-6. A five-point advantage and he has controlled the game very well so far. Very few chances for Lakshya to go on the offensive so far. It was close for a while but the Thai has pulled away.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 5-9
Good variation by Vitid. Varying the pace of his smashes and putting Lakshya off. A four-point lead for the Thai.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 5-7
Nice drop shot by the Thai, who now opens up a two-point lead. Vital for Lakshya to stay close here.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 5-5
A tight battle. Both players looking to find areas they can dominate. Feels very much like a sparring session at the moment. The real battle still to come.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 4-4
Two quick points and things are level again. Lakshya getting into this a little now. Net play will be a key area.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 2-4
Lakshya wins a fine battle at the net and that smashes down the short pickup. Nice rally and then the finish!
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 1-4
Another nice crosscourt smash by Vitid. He is moving very well around the court.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 1-3
Vitid sends the shuttle wide as Lakshya finally gets on the board. Still early days.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 0-3
Nice disguised drop shot by the Thai youngster.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 0-2
Vitid making a fine start. Some nice disguise being mixed into his play already.
Lakshya Sen vs Kunlavut Vitidsarn: 0-0
Play begins!
8.45 pm: Sen is 20 and Vitid is 20. Vitid is a three times world junior champions. Don’t expect this to be easy because it won’t be.
8.44 pm: The players are taking the court. After warming up for a few minutes, we should be a go.
8.42 pm: Next up!
8.26 pm: The medal ceremony for the women’s doubles is on but it also means that it is almost time for the men’s singles final to begin.
8.33 pm: The World Champions Chen/Jia fighting hard in the third game and coming up victors! The Stoeva sisters sure pushed them hard.
8.29 pm: We are reaching the end of a rather epic women’s doubles match.
8.16 pm: Vitidsarn found a way against Lee Zii Jia in the semis.
8.08 pm: A more recent interview of Lakshya Sen and he has stayed true to his word... a player who does not give up at any point.
“That’s the kind of player I want to be. Not to give up at any point. From the beginning I have been like that... give everything no matter what”
8.05 pm: From our archives, the story of Kunlavut Vitidsarn...
“I had an allergy. If the weather was cold, like for example in an air-conditioned environment, and I stepped out into warm weather, my nose could not handle it. I used to go to hospital once or twice a week.”
Overcoming nasal allergy to being two-time badminton world junior champ
7:59 pm: The Stoeva sisters take the second game 30-29, on their 9th game point. We will have a decider and the wait for the men’s singles final will continue for a while longer. What a game this was!
7.55 pm: 28-28 in the second game. The Stoeva’s are fighting hard!
7.50 pm: The women’s final is turning out to be a thriller!
7.43 pm: Kunlavut Vitidsarn hasn’t done too badly either. He beat the sixth seed, Jonatan Christie, in the early round and then got past fifth seed Lee Zii Jia in the semi-finals in straight games to set up the final against Lakshya.
7.40 pm: Some big wins on the way to the final for Lakshya Sen. The semi-final triumph over Viktor Axelsen was a big one but he also beat the fourth seed Anthony Ginting earlier in the tournament. The 20-year-old is high on confidence and will carry that into the final too.
7.25 pm: India’s Lakshya Sen and Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn have been having a go at each other since their days on the junior circuit and now they will have the chance to do that in the senior circuit; in a final. The head-to-head stands at 3-3 but Lakshya won their most recent meeting at the HYLO Open 2021 (formerly SaarLorLux Open) in three games – 21-18, 12-21, 21-19. It won’t be easy but it promises to be a lot of fun.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the men’s singles final between India’s Lakshya Sen and Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn at the German Open Super 300 in Muelheim an der Ruhr.