Japan Open: Lakshya Sen enters semis with dramatic win

The Japan Open quarterfinals had some delightful matches lined up on Friday, and at the top of this list for Indian fans was Lakshya Sen's singles game.

Lakshya was up against Japanese Koki Watanabe, who beat former World No.1 Kento Momoto on his way to the quarters.

Coming into this match, Lakshya and Koki's head-to-head was tied at one all, and fans were excited to see who would win.

The Indian looked strong in the first game, capitalizing on his attack and garnering a lead before the interval. He kept the same momentum going and quickly closed the match 21-15.

The second set was off to a slow start for Lakshya. Due to easy mistakes from Sen and strong gameplay from Koki, the Japanese had a lead of four points going into the interval.

This slump continued for Lakshya, as Watanabe commanded a strong lead of 16-10. However, just when fans thought they'd be treated to a deciding set, Sen made a rather dramatic comeback.

With all the attacking skills that make him a powerhouse of Indian badminton, Sen closed the lead to 14-16, and eventually took the lead himself with a singular point at 18-17. The rest of the points went by quickly as Lakshya registered a 21-19 victory over the World No.33.

This win means India has a guaranteed spot in the semifinals of the Men's singles event at the Japan Open. On Saturday, Sen will face either Indonesian fifth seed Jonathan Christie or Thai third seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn.

Both opponents are formidable in their own ways, and fans of Lakshya will hope for another "Sen-sational" performance in the Japan Open semifinal.

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Lakshya Sen's superlative display in 2023

Lakshya entered the Japan Open on the back of strong outings at the Canada Open and US Open. While he won the title in Canada, he went down fighting in the semifinals of the US Open.

Sen started his Japan Open tournament on Wednesday, playing against compatriot Priyanshu Rajawat. Rajawat, who recently won his first BWF World Tour title, pushed Lakshya to the decider before conceding the match 22-24.

After the marathon match against Priyanshu, Lakshya got away relatively easier in his round of 16 match against Kanta Tsuneyama. He won the game 21-14, 21-16 in 50 minutes.

Now that the Indian has officially entered the semifinals, he will be looking forward to resting and recuperating before getting on the court for his next match.