India's Lakshya Sen defeats World No.1 Viktor Axelsen to enter German Open 2022 final

Lakshya Sen vs Viktor Axelsen, German Open 2022: Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen beat the reigning world no.1 1 Viktor Axelsen in a stunning comeback to enter the final of German Open Super 300 here at the Westenergie Sporthalle. Sen beat the Olympic Gold medalist by making an unexpected comeback in the third and final game to win the match 21-13, 12-21, 22-20.

The 20-year-old had won the opening game with a comfortable margin of 21-13 to take a one-game lead. Axelsen made a thumping comeback in the second game, winning it 21-12 to level the match. The world champion was leading the third game as well 15-8 but Sen fought back to close the gap to 15-19, then levelled the score at 19-19 and then made a stunning return to seal the semifinal match with two consecutive points, 22-20. 

This was Lakshya Sen's first-ever victory against Viktor Axelsen. The two players have faced each other five times.

Lakshya Sen is a former world junior no. 1. He is currently ranked world no. 12. He recently won the bronze medal in the 2021 BWF World Championships.

German Open 2022 Final 

Lakshya Sen will now face off against Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the German Open 2022 final today, March 13, 2022. The Thailand shuttler beat Malaysia's Zii Jia 21-13, 21-12 in his semifinal encounter. 

Time: The German Open 2022 final will start at 6.30pm IST. 

 German Open 2022 Badminton Results

Lakshya Sen had earlier beat fellow Indian player HS Prannoy 21-15, 21-16 in the quarterfinals, while Axelsen had defeated India's Kidambi Srikanth in straight games of 21-10, 23-21.

The men's doubles the pair of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud had bowed out earlier after straight games losses of 11-21, 21-23 to Chinese pair of He Jiting and Zhou Haodong.

India's top female shuttler, world no. 7 PV Sindhu also crashed out earlier in the women's singles competition after second-round loss. The 2019 World Champion and two-time Olympic medalist suffered shock defeat of 14-21 21-15 14-21 against China's Zhang Yi Man.

London Olympic Games bronze medalist Saina Nehwal also crashed out after the second round following her 10-21 15-21 defeat against eighth seeded Thai Ratchanok Intanon.