Lakshya loses to rising Thai in German Open final

Lakshya Sen's giant-killing run ended with a straight-games defeat to Thailand's rising star Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the final of the German Open Super 300 badminton tournament, Muelheim An Der Ruhr, on Sunday.

The 20-year-old Indian, who had won his maiden Super 500 title at the India Open in January, was beaten 18-21, 15-21 in 57 minutes by the three-time World junior champion.

World No. 12 Sen, the World Championships bronze medallist, came into the match with a 3-3 head-to-head record against Vitidsarn, ranked 20th, having beaten the Thai in their last meeting at the Hylo Open last year.

In a battle of equals, Sen and Vitidsarn matched each other in speed in the rallies till 4-4 before the Thai rode on his variations and deception to grab a comfortable 11-6 lead at the break.

Sen worked up his pace and took control of the net to make it 15-16 but an alert Vitidsarn grabbed two game points with an overhead cross-court drop. Sen needed medical attention for a blister on his foot even as the Thai came up with a cross-court smash to pocket the opening game.

The gruelling semi-final against Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen seemed to have taken a toll on Sen as Vitidsarn raced to a 7-3 lead in the second game before moving to 11-5 after the change of sides.

The Indian needed the doctor's attention again as he fought his way back with four straight points but Vitidsarn oved to 19-15 and then took five match-points before sealing the second game and the match.

Sen had won two Super 100 titles -- Dutch Open and SaarLorLux Open -- besides three international challenges at Belgium, Scotland and Bangladesh in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic came in the way of his progress.

Last year, the youngster made it to the semi-finals at Hylo, reached the knockout stage at World Tour Finals on debut before sizzling at the World Championships with a bronze.