Lakshya Sen prevailed over Kiran George 21-13, 14-21, 21-9 in an exciting all-Indian semifinal of the SaarLorLux Open badminton in Saarbrucken, Germany on Saturday.
Sen, seeded eighth in this Super 100 level tournament, needed 37 minutes to win his men’s singles last-four clash against compatriot George and enter the final.
George, ranked 156 in the world, came into the match without dropping a game and looked confident in the second game after losing the opener. However, his fancied opponent was in his element in the third game and sailed into the final. World number 51 Sen thus continued to impress on the senior circuit.
The 18-year-old Indian is looking to clinch back-to-back Super 100 titles after his Dutch Open win earlier in October. If he goes all the way, it will be a hat-trick of titles as his previous two tournaments (Dutch Open Super 100 and Belgian International Challenge) saw him emerge victorious as well.
The semi-final was the fifth meeting between George and Sen in the international arena, with the latter now winning all five. Both had won their respective quarter-final matches in straight games.
In the final, Sen will face China’s Weng Hong Yang. Despite being ranked 102 in the world, the Chinese shuttler has won both the meetings against Sen in 2019 (at Canada Open and China Masters). Weng leads 2-1 in the head-to-head.
