Lakshya Sen claims second BWF World Tour title, beats reigning All England champion Li Shifeng at 2023 Canada Open 

Lakshya Sen (Source: Twitter)

India's Lakshya Sen won the men's singles title at the 2023 Canada Open by beating reigning All England champion Li Shifeng in straight sets. The Commonwealth Games gold medalist claimed his second BWF World Tour 500 title with scores of 21-18, 22-20 in 50 minutes against the World No. 10 Chinese international. Sen has already won the India Open in January 2022.

The 21-year-old took a 6-2 lead in the opener but Shifeng bounced back to level the scoreline at 15-all. However, the Indian collected three quick points to not give away the strong start he got and eventually won the game. The Chinese created a tense moment for Indian fans when he seized a 20-16 lead in the second game, but the current World No. 19 scored six straight points and held his composure to win 22-20.

Speaking after the game, Sen's coach Anup Sridhar praised the youngster's mental strength and physical fitness. “Lakshya did not give up at 20-16. It is so easy to slip into that frame of mind that he’s won the first and can play the decider. But as coach I kept telling him one point at a time. He would’ve been alright had it gone to the third too, such is his physical fitness,” he said.

But it was important once he got to 20-all he did not breathe a sigh of relief, because had he lost that game from there he would’ve been demoralised. He played those last two long rallies superbly, and sent the lifts higher which won him the match,” Anup added.

This win will be a big boost to my confidence: Sen

Talking about Sen's path to the 2023 Canada Open, he defeated the World No. 4 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the Round of 32. The former World No. 6 then cruised to a dominant semifinal victory over Japan's Kento Nishimoto to advance to his second Super 500 final.

“Coming into the Olympic qualification year, it was tough as things didn’t go my way. So this win will be a big boost to my confidence. I had to dig deep in some matches, the conditions were different and getting used to it was important," Sen told PTI after his dominant win over Shifeng in the summit clash.