Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen fought gallantly before going down in three games to world number 9 and Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie in the semifinals of the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament on Saturday. (More Badminton News)
🅺The 21-year-old from Almora bounced back from an opening game reversal to keep his rival under pressure but in the end couldn't get across the fifth-seeded Christie, who rode on his solid defence and quality of shots to eke out a 21-15 13-21 21-16 win.
🅺The duo had a 1-1 head-to-head count before the match and it turned out to be another pulsating contest with Sen and Christie involved in some exquisite rallies during the 68-minute contest.
ꦜSen is known to be faster and to negotiate his speed, Christie needed to produce high-quality shots.
🉐However, the Indonesian wasn't consistent and made too many unforced errors initially to allow the Indian take a 7-4 lead early on. However, a superb net shot coupled with Sen's errors on the sidelines helped Christie claw back with three points.
🎃Sen unleashed two booming smashes to keep himself ahead and went to the interval with a two-point advantage after Christie went long and wide.
꧅Christie levelled the scores after the resumption, playing some superb blocks and drop shots. He went up to 15-12 after winning a 32-shot rally.
😼The Indonesian started constructing his rallies by mixing his shots and also finished well to move to 19-13 after Sen went wide.
꧂A quick exchange ended with Sen missing a shot as Christie had a five game points and he sealed it with a backhand flick near the net.
𝕴Pegged back, Sen needed to change his strategy and he found his groove after an initial duel in the second game.
📖The Indian varied the pace of the rallies and produced some quality shots to make his opponent work hard. He also mixed his services to disrupt Christie's strategy.
🌊Sen played some sensational smashes and drops while Christie sprayed into the net twice. The result was Sen entered the interval with an 11-5 advantage after another cross-court return.
🦋At 13-7, Sen was called for a service fault for height. However, an incredible return during a fast-paced rally followed by another cross-court jump smash kept Sen ahead.
🐠Sen won a flat exchange and followed it with a straight smash. Another miscued net shot gave Sen seven game points and he converted it when Christie went long.
ಞThe decider was another rollercoaster ride as leads exchanged hands frequently.
🦩Sen needed to keep a calm head as he looked to outwit his rival in the rallies but it was Christie who managed to keep things in his grip to move to 9-6.
🦩The Indonesian grabbed a decisive four-point cushion at the final interval after producing two precise returns. After resumption, Sen did everything in his hand but couldn't break Christie's solid defence with the Indonesian led 15-11.
ဣAnother cross-court jump smash saw Sen make it 13-17 but he smashed wide next.
♏Christie moved to 19-15 with an accurate smash and grabbed five match points when Sen went marginally wide. Sen saved one with a smash on the backline before pushing one to the net.
