Australian Open Super 500 badminton: Lakshya Sen clinches first title of the season

 A quick and fluent Lakshya Sen ended a tough stretch on the worldwide circuit by clinching his first title of the season, defeating Japan’s Yushi Tanaka within the males’s singles remaining of the $475,000 Australian Open Tremendous 500 in Sydney on Sunday (November 23, 2025).

The 24-year-old from Almora, who had endured a troublesome section after ending fourth on the Paris Olympics, capped a resurgent week with a commanding efficiency, outplaying the 26-year-old Tanaka 21-15 21-11 in 38 minutes and celebrated the win by placing his fingers in his ears.

Lakshya, a 2021 World Championships bronze-medallist, had final received a Tremendous 300 title on the Syed Modi Worldwide in Lucknow in 2024. Nevertheless, a top-tier crown had eluded him since his triumph on the Canada Open that very same 12 months, although he got here shut on the Hong Kong Tremendous 500 in September when he completed runner-up.

Going through world No. 26 Tanaka, winner of two Tremendous 300 titles this 12 months on the Orléans Masters and the US Open, Lakshya displayed crisp management, sharp placement and clear execution to wrap up the competition with out dropping a recreation.

With this victory, the reigning Commonwealth Video games champion, turned solely the second Indian to win a BWF World Tour title this season, following Ayush Shetty’s maiden Tremendous 300 triumph on the US Open.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had reached the finals on the Hong Kong and China Masters, whereas Kidambi Srikanth additionally logged a runner-up end on the Malaysia Masters earlier within the 12 months.

Lakshya made a assured begin, opening up a 6-3 lead as Tanaka dedicated a flurry of errors — hitting into the web, going vast and overcooking his lifts. A 35-shot rally ended with the Japanese shuttler once more discovering the web, earlier than a fortunate web wire lastly broke Lakshya’s run of factors.

Two crisp cross-court smashes on both flank had Lakshya on the ground as Tanaka closed the hole to 7-9, however the Indian carried a three-point cushion into the mid-game interval after the Japanese sprayed one other shot into the web.

Chants of “Lakshya! Lakshya!” rang across the enviornment in the course of the mid-game intervals, with a sizeable Indian crowd turning as much as assist him.

The Indian tightened his grip thereafter, dominating the web exchanges and holding the shuttle flat and deep, denying Tanaka the size he wanted to unleash his whipping smashes as he moved forward 13-9.

Tanaka responded with a strong smash, adopted by a protracted error from Lakshya and a pointy web shot to make it 12-13. However Lakshya once more pulled away, opening up a four-point lead at 17-13 with a backhand smash and one other fierce cross-court winner.

Tanaka tried to remain within the hunt however two lengthy errors handed Lakshya 5 recreation factors. The Indian transformed instantly as Tanaka drove one other shuttle into the web.

The second recreation was a one-sided affair as Lakshya saved up the depth, persevering with to play quick, flat returns at the same time as Tanaka tried stretching him along with his trademark whipping smashes however these had been far too few to pose any problem.

The Japanese overdid his assault and his inconsistency overshadowed his moments of brilliance as Lakshya moved forward 8-4.

A flat cross-court drive pushed Lakshya to 10-5, and he secured a six-point lead on the interval with one other thunderous smash.

Lakshya confirmed glorious backline judgement as Tanaka repeatedly floated the shuttle lengthy. After successful a decent web duel, the Indian prolonged the result in 13-6. Tanaka struggled to resist Lakshya’s energy, persevering with to hit vast and into the web because the lead swelled to 17-8.

Lakshya then hammered a barrage of smashes to maneuver to 19-8 and shortly earned 10 match factors with one other wonderful shot close to the web. He squandered one with a web error however sealed the title with a pointy cross-court return.