Sensational Lakshya Sen Seals Canada Open Title Beating All England Champion Li Shi Feng

Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen dished out a badminton masterpiece to notch up his second BWF Super 500 title with a straight-game win over Li Shi Feng of China in the final of the Canada Open. The 21-year-old from Almora, 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. "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 told PTI after the win.

"I had to dig deep in some matches, the conditions were different and getting used to it was important," the ace shuttler said.

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.

Sen gave ample display of his temperament as he saved four game points in the second game to grab a championship point and sealed it on very first opportunity with a smash and collapsed on the court in relief and happiness after an intense match.

The duo 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.

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