Lakshya Sen wins Bangladesh Challenger 2019 without dropping a game

Indian badminton prodigy Lakshya Sen defeated Malaysia's Leong Jun Hao in the men's singles final of the Bangladesh International Challenger 2019, adding to his impressive season

Without dropping a single game, top seed Lakshya Sen picked up his fifth title since August, and sixth for the season.

Smooth sailing

Sen got off to a breezy start, making light work of Indian Rajesh Verma in the opening round 21-5, 21-10. He followed that up with three more easy takedowns in the subsequent rounds, beating Malaysians Md Tah M Ziyad (21-13, 21-6), Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin (21-17, 21-9), and Ng Tze Yong (21-9, 21-11).

The semi-final duel was a bit more closely contested, with third-seeded Ikhsan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay of Indonesia bowing out 18-21, 16-21.

In the final, which went on for 50 minutes, Sen was up against Malaysia’s Jun Hao Leong. The opening game was 20 apiece before Sen eventually prevailed 22-20, while the second was a less tense affair, with the Indian getting the better of his rival 21-18 to clinch the title.

Getting better with time

The win comes less than a month since November's win in the Scottish Open 2019, where Sen came out on top after an enthralling back-n-forth battle against Brazil's Ygor Coelho 18-21, 21-18, 21-19.

After picking up his first title of 2019 at the Belgian International in September, he topped it off with a stunning 15-21, 21-14, 21-15 comeback win against Japan's Yusuke Onodera in the Dutch Open 2019. Following that, he racked up more wins at the Saarlorlux Open 2019 and the Scottish Open 2019.

In a year when India's female badminton players have shone on occasion, with PV Sindhu's BWF World Championship being by far the biggest achievement, the male badminton players have occasionally struggled for form. In that light, Lakshya Sen’s progress has been a beacon of hope that has so far indicated it will get brighter in the years to come.