Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen progressed to the semi-finals of the men’s singles event at the German Open 2022 BWF Super 300 tournament in Mulheim on Friday. Lakshya Sen, the world No. 12, defeated HS Prannoy 21-15, 21-16 in his quarter-final match to set up a clash with world No. 1 and reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen.
The world No. 24 HS Prannoy started the match strongly, taking a 4-0 lead. However, Lakshya Sen found his rhythm and dominated his senior compatriot to take the first game. Lakshya Sen maintained his lead for the rest of the match and won comfortably in 39 minutes. This was Lakshya Sen’s second win of the year against HS Prannoy, having defeated him at the India Open quarter-finals in January.
Lakshya Sen’s next opponent, Viktor Axelsen, defeated Kidambi Srikanth in the other quarter-final match. Despite the tough challenge ahead, Lakshya Sen will go into the semi-finals with confidence, having ousted Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist and world No. 5 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 21-7, 21-9 in the second round. Lakshya Sen had also defeated world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore to win the India Open in January.
Meanwhile, Kidambi Srikanth went down to Viktor Axelsen 21-10, 22-20 in 35 minutes. With this win, Viktor Axelsen extended his head-to-head record against Kidambi Srikanth to 9-3.
In the women’s singles event, India’s challenge at the German Open 2022 ended after PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal lost their respective second-round matches. They will next be seen in action at the All England Open 2022, which starts on March 16.
Earlier on Friday, Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19. The pandemic continues to be a major concern for the tournament, with several players having withdrawn due to positive tests or concerns over the virus.
The German Open is a crucial event for players looking to earn ranking points and improve their standings ahead of the Olympic qualification period. The tournament is also seen as a preparation event for the prestigious All England Open, which is one of the oldest and most prestigious tournaments in the world of badminton.
