Badminton Asia Junior Championship 2018 : Lakshya Sen stuns number 1 ranked Kunlavut Vitidsarn to win Badminton Asia Junior  Championship 

The 16 year old Lakshya Sen created history as he became the 3rd Indian to win the Badminton Asia Junior Championship beating the Junior number 1 ranked Kunlavut Vitidsarn in two straight games at Jakarta, Indonesia on Sunday.

The first game saw the number 1 ranked player Kunlavut start on a positive note with an early 5-2 lead. After that Lakshya Sen showed great fighting spirit to level the scores at 7-7. At the interval, Kunlavut had an 11-7 lead. After the break, the Indian player made a great comeback to narrow the gap and then levelled the score at 12-12. Both players fought for each point till 19-19. The Indian held his nerves and won the first set 21-19.

The second game started on an even keel with both players scoring 4 points each. After that, the 16 year old Lakshya Sen played aggressive badminton and led 8-5. The world number 1 ranked player Kunlavut showed great fighting spirit to reduce the gap to 9-10 in favour of Lakshya Sen. Both players fought for each point. When things were going in one direction, the other player made a comeback. The match was in the balance as the scores were 17-17. Sen held his nerves and won the second set 21-18.

It is a historic moment for Indian badminton fans as Sen became the first men’s singles player to win Badminton Asia Junior Championship Gold medal. In 2012, PV Sindhu had won the Badminton Asia Junior Championship gold medal.

Sen was a part of the Indian team which took part in 2018 Thomas Cup. It is a historic moment for Lakshya Sen to win a gold medal and prove that he is a future star for Indian badminton in men’s singles.