Lakshya Sen won his first BWF title of the year at the Australian Open Super 500, beating Yushi Tanaka of Japan 21-15, 21-11 in just 38 minutes. It was a controlled and confidence-building performance from the Indian world No 14 and will give him a much-needed boost after what has been a challenging 2025 season.
The seventh-seeded Indian was the better player throughout the final, mixing his naturally defensive game with a good dose of attacking badminton and deft touches at the net to show his improved range. Lakshya took the lead early on in the final and never let it slip against his unseeded opponent who let the occasion get to him.
The final started on a balance note, before Lakshya opened up a lead at 6-3 by pushing Yushi in longer rallies and forcing errors out of him on the corners of the court. He took handy three-point lead into the mid-game interval but the Japanese mounted a small comeback to come close at 13-12. This is when Lakshya raced ahead towards the finish line with a very good variation of pace and skill. He outfoxed Yushi a couple of times, slowly building rallies and then smashing a winner to kill the point.
Soon, he had five game points and he converted the very first one when the Japanese drove into the net. The second game started similarly even before Yushi started going for too much and committed a flurry of unforced errors while Lakshya stayed steady and played his own game. He built a big lead and went into the interval 11-5 ahead. Yushi tried too many things to attempt to faze Lakshya, who looked very calm and in control of his shots, a sign that despite being younger he was the veteran player of the two.
It was all one-way traffic as Yushi looked resigned after most his shots were mishit and Lakshya had 10 championship points, which he converted with ease. He celebrates with both his index fingers to his ears - a sign of shutting down all the noise. He then got a big hug from his coach Yoo Yong-sung and father DK Sen, both who have seen him endure the rough season from close quarters.
His win-loss record for the year is now 23-18, just in balance, and this title continues a streak of at least one title a year since 2022. This was also his first tournament win out of India since July 2023 when he won the Canada Open Super 500, and first title since the Syed Modi International Super 300 last November.
Relive all the action from the final in our live blog below