Japan Open: Tokyo crown drifts away

Tokyo, July 29

Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen fought gallantly before going down in three games to world No. 9 and Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie in the semifinals of the Japan Open Super 750 here today.

4 This was Sen’s fourth straight semifinals appearance on the 2023 BWF World Tour following his last-4 stage finishes at the Thailand Open, US Open and Canada Open, which he won

The 21-year-old from Almora bounced back from an opening game reversal to keep his rival under pressure but in the end couldn’t get across the fifth-seeded Indonesian, who rode on his solid defence and quality of shots to eke out a 21-15 13-21 21-16 win.

The duo had a 1-1 head-to-head record before the match and it turned out to be another pulsating contest with Sen and Christie involved in some exquisite rallies during the 68-minute contest.

Sen is known to be faster and to negotiate his speed, Christie needed to produce some high-quality shots.

I just try to do my best every single day. I have struggles and stuff to overcome but I have been really fortunate to have experience playing with legends. Viktor Axelsen, World no. 1

However, the Indonesian wasn’t consistent and made too many unforced errors initially to allow the Indian take a 7-4 lead early on. However, a superb net shot coupled with Sen’s errors on the sidelines helped Christie claw back with three points.

Sen unleashed two booming smashes to keep himself ahead and went into the interval with a two-point advantage after Christie went long and wide.

Christie levelled the scores after the resumption, playing some superb blocks and drop shots. He went up 15-12 after winning a 32-shot rally.

The Indonesian started constructing his rallies by mixing shots and also finished well to move to 19-13 after Sen went wide. A quick exchange ended with Sen missing a shot as Christie had five game points and he sealed it with a backhand flick near the net.

Pegged back, Sen needed to change his strategy and found his groove after an initial duel in the second game.

The Indian varied the pace of the rallies and produced some quality shots to make his opponent work hard. He also mixed his services to disrupt Christie’s strategy.

Sen played some sensational smashes and drops to enter the interval with an 11-5 advantage after another crosscourt return and kept his nose in front to level the scores.

The decider was another rollercoaster ride as leads exchanged hands frequently.

Sen needed to keep a calm head as he looked to outwit his rival in the rallies, but it was Christie who managed to keep things under control as he moved to 9-6. The Indonesian grabbed a decisive four-point cushion at the final interval after producing two precise returns.

After resumption, Sen did everything but couldn’t break Christie’s solid defence as he ran up a 15-11 lead before fighting to 19-15 and then grabbed five match points to seal the contest.

Axelsen in final

World No.1 Viktor Axelsen won a crushing victory against Japan’s Kodai Naraoka to move into the final, while South Korea’s An Se Young also secured a berth. Axelsen beat Naraoka 21-11 21-11 in a match that lasted 45 minutes, while Se Young continued to march ahead in her history-making quest as she reached her 10th final of the year in 11 tournaments. The Korean once again proved unbreakable against Tai Tzu Ying, beating her 21-17, 21-12. She will face He Bingjiao for the title. — Agencies

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