World No. 19 Lakshya Sen won his first BWF Super-500 Canada Open (2023)! It is his first title win for the current year and his first claim ever to win the Canada Open in Calgary. He defeated Li Shi Feng, the reigning All-England champion, in two straight sets of 21-18, 22-20 in under an hour.
The prodigy of Indian badminton, former Junior World No. 1, made an incredible shot selection, ensured better footwork, and immense speed mixed with aggression. His playing style was perfectly complemented by his racket: Yonex Nanoflare 1000Z.
Moving from the ever-popular Astrox 100 ZZ to Yonex's latest launch, the lightning-fast NF-1000Z badminton racket, Lakshya has managed to one-up Li Shi Feng with his lightning-fast reflexes and alertness. He accelerated his flat drives, played extraordinarily tight net shots, and finished the match at a breakneck speed!
It is interesting that Lakshya Sen recently defeated Shi Feng in June 2023 during the Thailand Open. Back then, he won the game in straight sets as he did on Sunday.
His coach Anup Sridhar acknowledges the shuttler's dedication and frame of mind. He said, "Lakshya did not give up at 20-16. It is so easy to slip into that frame of mind that he's won the first and can play the decider. But as a coach, I kept telling him one point at a time. He would’ve been alright had it gone to the third too, such is his physical fitness."
As avid badminton fans, we cannot be more proud of our hero. Team Nydhi India congratulates Lakshya Sen for his incredible feat and wishes him luck in his future endeavours!