Lakshya Sen bows out of US Open after loss in semifinal

Washington [US], July 16 (ANI): Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen bowed out of the ongoing US Open tournament after a loss in the semifinal on Saturday.

Sen, the Commonwealth Games champion lost to the world number seven and All-England Champion Li Shifeng by 17-21, 24-22, 17-21 in a hard-fought match that lasted an hour and 16 minutes.

Sen did not have a very good start as he lost a very close first game by just four points. He maintained his composure to bounce back in the second game that went down the wire. These two games paved the way for an exciting decider, which was won by Shifeng despite the fight put up by the CWG champion from India.

“A terrific run at #USOpen2023 comes to an end for Lakshya Sen. Lots of positives to take from this week. Keep at it champ: @badmintonphoto #Badminton #IndiaontheRise,” tweeted Badminton Association of India (BAI) Media.

Notably, it was Shifeng that Sen had defeated in the final of the men’s singles competition at the Canada Open recently on July 9 by 21-18, 22-20 within two straight games to win his fourth BWF World Tour title after Dutch Open, SaarLorLux Open (2019) and Indian Open (2022).

The US Open, which had started on July 11, will be concluding on Sunday.