Hong Kong, 14 September (). Sen’s dream of winning the Hong Kong Open title is broken. In the final match played on Sunday, Lakshya suffered a defeat 21-15, 21-12 to Lee Shifeng of China. China has become the first country in Open Aira, which has done a clean sweep at every event of the tournament.
India also suffered defeat in the men’s doubles. The Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost to China’s Olympic silver medalist Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in the final match played on Sunday itself.
Sen, who was in a spectacular form throughout the tournament, made a great start to the final for 45 minutes. The initial phase of the initial game was equal and the two players scored openly. Sen scored nine points quickly, but Lee later returned and overturned the dice. The Chinese shuttler easily won the first game with a sharp smash and accurate placement.
In the second game, Sen indicated return with an aggressive start and gained an early lead. However, Lee equalized the score 4-4 due to some wrong shots in critical moments. Subsequently, the Chinese shuttler gained control and took advantage of Sen’s mistakes and dominated the game with constant pressure and clever angle.
Although Sen performed well in long rallies initially, Lee’s strategy to score early points kept the Indian player under constant pressure. The match concluded with a light crosscourt net shot of Lee.
Lakshya, the defeat in the final, is a major setback for Sen. He was looking for his first Super 500 title. His performance in this tournament was good and that is why he was expected to win the title, but in the important moments of the game, Lee Shifeng took advantage of the mistakes made from him and took the match to his name.
–
PAK/
