Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen came up with a gritty performance on Sunday to win the Canada Open Super 500 title. The Indian was up against world No 10 and fifth seed Li Shi Feng of China in the final, but managed to secure a 21-18, 22-20 win in a match that lasted 50 minutes.
This was the first time since the All England Open last year that Sen had featured in a tour final, and the first time he claimed a title since winning the India Open in January 2022 – although he did win gold in the men’s singles event at the Commonwealth Games.
The win on Sunday though comes at an opportune moment for the 21-year-old.
Sen, who was ranked as high as sixth in the world, in December 2022, had fallen to as low as 25 after a rough few months in which he has struggled for form due to illness.
He even decided to take a break to rejuvenate.
Now back, the youngster went through a number of talented players en route to winning the crown in Calgary.
He had beaten an old rival and second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the opening round, before beating Ygor Coelho and qualifier Julien Carraggi in the second and quarter-final respectively. In the semi-final he came up with a 21-15, 7-21, 21-14 win over Japan’s fourth seed Kenta Nishimoto, before picking up his fifth win in seven meetings against Li.
The first game was a tight contest, although Sen did not trail once in the opener. Though both players were level at 1-1, 2-2 and then 15-15, Sen ensured he’d win the next point on each occasion to take the lead, eventually winning the opening game 21-18.
The second game started with both players staying within touching distance of each other, until Li took a lead after 6-6. The Chinese maintained the lead.
Eventually, Li looked poised to take the last match of the tournament into a deciding game when he led 20-16.
Sen however, played impeccably to claim the next six points on the trot and seal the match and title, taking the second set 22-20.
This was Sen’s fourth tour title and second Super 500 crown. But after the rough patch he has been going through in the past few months, the win in Calgary is expected to give him a shot in the arm and get his season back on track.
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