Japan Open 2023: Lakshya Sen Loses To Jonatan Christie In Semifinal

Lakshya Sen: Indian badminton player Lakshya Sen crashed out of the Japan Open 2023 badminton tournament after losing to world No. 9 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the men's singles semi-finals, here on Saturday.

Lakshya, 13th in the badminton rankings, lost 15-21, 21-13, 16-21 to Christie at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium to exit the BWF Super 750 tournament.The 21-year-old's loss also brought an end to India's challenge at the Japan Open.

This was Sen’s second successive semi-final exit. He also crashed out from the US Open in the top four stage.

In the opening game, both players were engaged in quick and short rallies. However, it was Lakshya who held a two-point advantage heading into the first break. After the restart, though, Christie, the fifth seed, raised his game a couple of gears and easily took the first game.

In the second game, the Indian shuttler took a more patient approach, engaging Christie in longer rallies in an attempt to force errors out of the Indonesian player. The ploy worked as Lakshya led the game from start to finish and took the match into a decider.

The third game began on level footing but with the score tied at 6-6, Christie took a lead and maintained the advantage to seal the 68-minute affair.

This was Lakshya’s second loss against Christie in three head-to-head meetings.