India Open: Lakshya Sen defeats world champion Loh Kean Yew 24-22, 21-17 in men's singles final

India's Lakshya Sen produced a magnificent effort to beat world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore 24-22 21-17 in the final of men's singles at the Indian Open. This is Sen's first BWF World Tour Super 500 title and third overall. 

Continuing on his impressive showing in the BWF World Championships where he reached the semi-finals of the 2021 edition, Sen produced a fine performance against Loh as he dominated the fifth-seeded Singaporean shuttler throughout the game.

There was a significant difference in Sen's style of play against Loh throughout the match as the Indian, who likes to play the attacking game, was quite patient in his rallies against the Singapore player. It was probably a testament to the current world champion's brilliant defensive game, and Sen did well to breach it.

After an initial 2-0 lead in the first game from the Singapore shuttler, Sen mounted an excellent comeback with four points on the trot. While Sen maintained the lead for a large part of the game, Loh eventually fought back with six consecutive points to draw level at 19-19 towards the closing stages. The game points, then, swung between the two before Lakshya managed to close the game at 24-22, courtesy of an error in judgment from Loh on the sideline.

Loh moved much better in the second game, taking an early 4-1 lead before Lakshya -- once again -- pulled back to draw level. The Indian was more attacking in the second game as both players pulled the strings on one another to keep the scoreboard tight.

The Singapore shuttler's unforced errors, however, continued to cost him as Lakshya led 11-9 at the break.

After Lakshya secured five successive points post the break, Loh staged a mini-comeback to draw close to the Indian. However, it wasn't enough for the Singapore shuttler as Lakshya eventually saw the game off to win the India Open title.

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