• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

India's Lakshya Sen has continued his brilliant form as he put up a stunning show for a straight-game win over local hope Koki Watanabe to progress to the semifinals of the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament on Thursday.

The world number 13 Sen registered a 21-15, 21-19 victory over Watanabe, ranked 33rd, to make his third successive semifinals, following his title wins in Canada and memorable outing in the United States.

 

ALSO READ: IND vs WI: Virat Kohli's One-handed Stunning Catch Goes Viral, Ravindra Jadeja Gives Reaction | Watch

 

The reigning Commonwealth Games champion now will be up against either fifth-seed Indonesian Jonatan Christie or third-seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn from Thailand.

Sen, who had won the Canada Open Super 500 early this month, started with a 5-3 lead early on before moving to 11-7 at the break. The India didn't have much problem negotiating with the Japanese and soon sealed the opening game with two cross-court returns on both sides of the court.

After the change of sides, Watanabe tried to put some pace in the contest but Sen looked calm and moved to 3-2 with a lovely cross-court drop.

The Japanese strengthened his defense things looking tough for Sen, who trailed 7-14. However, the Indian was soon to turn things around in his favor at 18-17 with a cross-court smash.

With two returns on his opponent's backhand, Sen gained back-to-back returns at the back-line and then threw his racquet in celebration as he got pumped after yet another remarkable victory.

On the other hand, the in-form men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty couldn't produce their 'A' game and went down fighting 15-21, 25-23, 16-21 to Olympic champions Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lan of Chinese Taipei.

 

ALSO READ: IND vs WI: Rohit Sharma On Batting At Number 7 In Chase, Says 'Never Thought We'd Lose Five Wickets But...'

 

The BWF World Tour is divided into six levels, namely World Tour Finals, four Super 1000, six Super 750, seven Super 500, and 11 Super 300. One other category of the tournament, the BWF Tour Super 100 level, also offers ranking points.