Lakshya Sen stroms into Australian Open 2025 final after defeating Chou Tien Chen

Sydney [Australia], November 22 (ANI): India's Lakshya Sen stormed into the finals of the ongoing Australian Open 2025 badminton tournament in Sydney on Saturday.

Lakshya, who is ranked 14th in men's singles badminton rankings, overcame the challenge of Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei.

The Indian shuttler saved three match points to beat world No. 6 17-21, 24-22, 21-16 in a thrilling 86-minute semi-final clash at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre.

Overall, this was Lakshya's fourth men's singles victory over Chou Tien Chen in eight meetings.

Interestingly, the star Indian shuttler defeated his counterpart earlier this year at the Hong Kong Open. Sen edged 23-21, 22-20 in a tight semi-final.

Chou Tien, the 2022 World Championships bronze medallist , took early control in the game. The World No. 6 raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening game and Lakshya lost the set 17-21.

Lakshya tightened up in the second match. Tien Chen, who took a 7-4 lead, saw the Indian shuttler bouncing back and levelling the score 12-12.

Sen overtuned a 14-17 deficit to lead 20-18. However, the second game dragged into a decider when Sen saved three match points and took it 24-22.

With momentum on his side, the Indian shuttler dominated the third game and never lost his grip to close out a commanding finish to reach his second final of the ongoing BWF 2025 world tour.

Lakshya is now the only Indian shuttler left in the draw. The World No. 14 defeated his fellow Indian badminton player Ayush Shetty in the quarter-finals.

Lakshya will either play Chinese Taipei's world No.12 Chun Yi Lin or 26th-ranked Japanese Yushi Tanaka in the Australian Open 2025 final on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy suffered a defeat in their men's doubles quarter-final match on Friday. (ANI)

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