This is Lakshya’s second BWF World Tour title this season. He has already won the India Open title in January 2022. Lakshya’s current world ranking in men’s singles is 19.
Commonwealth Games gold medalist Lakshya Sen defeated defending All England champion Li Shi Feng of China to win the men’s singles title at the Canada Open 2024. Lakshya won in straight games over world number-10 Shi Feng. Lakshya won the match 21-18, 22-20.
Lakshya’s journey in Canada Open
This is Lakshya’s second BWF World Tour title this season. He has already won the India Open title in January 2022. Lakshya’s current world ranking in men’s singles is 19. He defeated world number four Kunlavut Witidsarn in the round of 32. Lakshya then pulled off a stunning win over world No. 11 Kento Nishimoto of Japan in the semi-finals to storm into his second Super 500 final and first BWF summit clash in over a year. Lakshya won the semi-final match 21-17, 21-14.
Last time Lakshya reached the final in Birmingham CWG
Lakshya had undergone nose surgery in August last year after the World Championships (August 22 to 28) and took a long time to recover from the treatment. He last played in a final at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games last year. Even then Lakshya became the champion and won the men’s singles gold medal. He suffered early-round exits in several tournaments after recovering from nose surgery.
Excellent record of goals against Li Shi Feng
At the beginning of this season, Lakshya was not in form, due to which he slipped to number 19 in the rankings. However, she showed signs of improvement in her form by reaching the semi-finals of the Thailand Open. Now he has become the champion of the Canada Open. This has paved the way for Lakshya to qualify for the Paris Olympics. This was Lakshya’s fifth win against Li Shi Feng. A total of seven matches have been played between the two. Li Shi Feng has won only two matches.
PV Sindhu was defeated in the semi-finals
Meanwhile, two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu was not at her best as she went down 14-21 15-21 to Japanese number one Akane Yamaguchi in the women’s singles semi-finals. Yamaguchi registered her 11th win against Sindhu. At the same time, the Indian shuttler has won 14 matches against this Japanese player.
Sindhu’s form of concern
Sindhu was injured after the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. She returned to the badminton court this year, but her form has been a concern. Since the 2022 Commonwealth Games, she has played nine tournaments and in five she was eliminated after losing in the first round.
Sindhu reached the final of the Madrid Masters, but she was defeated in the title match. She lost in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters and now the Canada Open. Sindhu has played a total of 26 matches this year. Of these, 14 have won and 12 have lost. Sindhu is still waiting for her first title this year.
Road to Paris Olympics tough for Sindhu
Two-time Olympic medalist and former world champion Sindhu is struggling to find form while returning from injury. The road to qualifying for the Paris Olympics is getting tougher for Sindhu. She also has to make up for her tournaments in the Paris Olympic qualification cycle (May 1, 2024, to April 28, 2024) that she missed due to injury.
The BWF World Tour is divided into six levels. These include the World Tour Finals, four Super 1000, six Super 750, seven Super 500, and 11 Super 300 tournaments. Another category of tournaments, the BWF Tour Super 100 level, also awards ranking points.