Showing appreciable consistency, Lakshya Sen wins Scottish Open men's single title
25 Nov 2019 10:58:16
Glasgow, November 25: India's badminton champion Lakshya Sen has won the Scottish Open men's single title, defeating Brazilian Ygor Coelho to seal his fourth title in three months. Entering the tournament as the top seed, the world number 41 registered an 18-21, 21-18, 21-19 win in 56 minutes to claim the title in Glasgow.
The 18-year-old Indian started his year with a silver medal at the Polish Open International Challenge in March. After a series of disappointing exits, Sen went on to win the Belgian International in September, his first title of the year.
Within a month, Lakshya won his first BWF Super 100 title at the Dutch Open, with the second one coming soon after, at the SaarLorLux Open in Germany.
During the final, Lakshya had fallen behind in the opening game but he managed to turn the tables and grab a 10-8 lead. Coelho, however, reeled off six straight points to move to a 14-10 lead. The Indian kept breathing down his opponent’s neck but Coelho ensured he had the bragging rights after the opening game. Stung by the reversal, Lakshya came out firing in the second round and jumped to a 7-0 lead in the second game. The Brazilian slowly clawed back at 17-17 but Lakshya managed to bounce back into the contest.
The decider turned out to be an evenly-fought contest and both the shuttlers battled hard to gain the lead. Coelho enjoyed an 11-8 advantage at the break but a gritty Lakshya kept drawing parity and eventually had the last laugh.
Lakshya thus joined fellow Indians Anand Pawar (2010 and 2012), Arvind Bhatt (2004) and Pullela Gopichand (1999) in winning the Scottish Open title. He will be next seen in action in the Syed Modi International Championship, starting on November 26 in Lucknow.
