NEW DELHI: Sports can be harsh sometimes. Just when it seemed like shuttler Lakshya Sen was on the verge of steadying his ship and potentially challenging for the big prizes, the Indian hit a roadblock in the form of Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei on Friday, an opponent who has proven to be a thorn for the World No 14. His latest setback couldn't have come at the wrong time as Lakshya, with his tails up after a commanding win just 24 hours earlier, was seeking to keep the Indian flag flying at the ongoing India Open here. The commitment, as always, was unquestionable. His range of skills were also clearly visible but he just couldn't cope with the heat in the dying minutes as Lin, who's ranked World No 12, silenced the home crowd to end the Indian challenge in the marquee event. The final score read 17-21, 21-13, 21-18 in Lin's favour.
"It was a very close match and could have been a little more clinical towards the end. But credit to him, he played a really solid game," Lakshya said post-match.
History favoured the left-handed Lin but Lakshya was locked in for the task ahead. Despite early signs of nerves, he gradually found his rhythm. It was a see-saw battle at the start with both players trading points. But it was the Indian who took a two-point lead heading into the first 20-second break. With some speedy exchanges here and there, it was a gripping watch in the mid-stages. But Lakshya, after reeling off four consecutive points, took control of the proceedings before closing out the game.
Although Lakshya had taken a big step by capturing the opening game, the task was far from over though. He had been in this territory in their past meetings. In two of his previous three losses, the 24-year-old had experienced a similar situation but had gone to lose the plot.
The momentum was on his side, Lakshya made a fast start and had a 5-2 lead. A phase of play that saw a couple of good smashes and a sharp return, he seemed to be on the ascendancy. But that's when Lin course-corrected, forcing Lakshya to err on several occasions. The crowd was suddenly quiet. Lin, after reeling off nine consecutive points, had a healthy lead of 11-5. "I think in today's (Friday) match, I was not prepared for the wind. There was a little bit more wind than yesterday (Thursday), so it took me some time to realize the same. I was a bit shaky from the net to lift the shuttle and I made so many errors just from the front," he later said when queried about that particular phase of play.
Even in Game 3, Lakshya had a decent lead but Lin, showing his ability to adapt and find solutions, continued to apply the pressure on his opponent. In the end, Lakshya, clearly in a position of disadvantage while trying to retrieve the shuttle, fell to the ground and lay flat on his stomach on the floor. It was a moment of Deja vu as the crowd stood silent. Lin, meanwhile, walked away as a worthy winner.
"I think he likes to play fast, but I adjust my strategy according to the situation," Lin said after the match, when asked about his dominant record against the Indian.
Lakshya, meanwhile, also rued his inability to kill the game. "I think the third set, it was much more of a pressure game where both of us were trying to keep the attack. But again, the whole match, it was very close and it was important for me to finish off," he said.
Results: MS: J Christie (Ina) bt 5-C Popov 21-19, 21-19; 8-L Kean Yew (Sin) bt K Vitidsarn (Tha) 14-21, 21-15, 21-17; Victor Lai (Can) bt CHi Yu Jen (Tpe) 21-18, 17-21, 21-15; Lin Chun-Yi (Tpe) bt Lakshya Sen 17-21, 21-13, 21-18. MD: 2-Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik (Mas) bt Lee Jhe-Huei/Yang Po-Hsuan 21-19, 21-14; Kang Min Hyuk/Ki Dong Ju (Kor) bt Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi (Jpn) 21-18, 14-21, 21-18; Hiroki Midorikawa/Kyoshei Yamashita (Jpn) bt Liu Kuang Heng/Yang po Han (Tpe) 21-16, 21-18; 4-Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang (Chn) bt 5-Man Wei Chong/Kai Wun Tee (Mas) 21-15, 15-21, 21-19. WS: 2-Wang Zhi Yi (Chn) bt Natsuki Nidaira (Jpn) 20-22, 21-13, 21-9; 4-Chen Yu Fei (Chn) bt 5-Han Yue (Chn) 21-8, 21-18; 1-AN Se Young (Kor) bt 6-Putri Kusuma Wardani (Ina) 21-16, 21-8; 7-Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt Beiwen Zhang (USA) 21-16, 21-12 WD1-Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning (Chn) bt 7-Li Yi Jing/Luo Xu Min (Chn) 21-14, 21-15; 6-Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee (Kor) bt Hsu Ya Ching/Sung Yu-Hsuan (Tpe) 21-19, 21-9; 5-Yuki Fukshima/Mayu Matsumoto (Jpn) bt Jeong Na Eun/Lee Yeon Woo (Kor) 21-10, 21-10; 2-Pearly Tan/Thinaah Miuralitharan (Mas) bt 8-Hsieh Pei Shan/Hung En-Tzu (Tpe) 21-16, 21-10. XD: 1-Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping (Chn) bt 8-Goh Soon Huat/Lai Shevon Jemie 21-19, 19-21, 21-18; 3-Dechapol Purvaranukroh/Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) bt 5-Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue (Fra) 21-6, 21-15; 2-Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin (Chn) bt Yuichi Shimogami/Sayaka Hobara 25-23, 21-18; Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Boje (Den) bt 6-Guo Xin Wa/Chen Fang Hui (Chn) 21-13, 14-21, 21-11.
