Lakshya finishes third at King Cup

India’s Lakshya Sen delivered a dominant performance, outplaying rising French star Alex Lanier in straight games to finish third at the inaugural King Cup International Badminton Open here on Sunday. The 23-year-old defeated Lanier 21-17 21-11, securing a prize purse of around Rs 36 lakh.

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Lakshya had earlier lost in the semifinals to reigning world junior champion Hu Zhe’an of China, going down 19-21 19-21 in a closely contested match on Saturday.

In the play-off, Lakshya took a 6-1 lead, but Lanier fought back to level the score at 10-10. However, Lakshya regained control to move ahead 18-15 before sealing the opening game. Lakshya continued with the momentum in the second game, wrapping up victory with ease.