Top Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen upstaged former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in an upset straight-game win to storm into the semifinals of the US $475,000 Japan Masters badminton tournament here on Friday.
Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya, seeded seventh, produced a stupendous performance to outplay World No. 9 Loh 21-13 21-17 in 40 minutes, extending his dominance over the Singaporean with a seventh win in 10 career meetings.
Lakshya, who endured a lean patch before rediscovering his touch with a runner-up finish at the Hong Kong Open followed by quarterfinal appearances at the Denmark and Hylo Open, will now face Japan's sixth seed and world No. 13 Kenta Nishimoto in the semifinal.
Coming in with a 6-3 head-to-head lead, Lakshya, the 2021 World Championship bronze winner, displayed impressive all-round control to dismantle Loh, who has been struggling for some time. They were tied 4-4 early in the opening game before Lakshya broke away to take an 11-8 lead at the interval. He reeled off six straight points after the break to move 18-9 ahead and comfortably closed out the game.
Loh offered more resistance in the second game, staying level with Lakshya at 9-9, but the Indian once again pulled ahead to 15-9. The Singaporean narrowed the gap to 17-18, but Sen held firm to seal the match.
Also read: Lakshya Sen cruises to quarters in Japan Masters
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