German Open Badminton Final LIVE: Lakshya Sen loses FINAL: India’s Lakshya Sen has lost the final fixture to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in German Open Final. He lost the game 18-21 and 15-21 after an apparent leg injury. The injury scare comes as a big issue for the youngster ahead of the upcoming all England Open. He looked tremendous in the semifinal against World No.1 Viktor Axelsen but the injury played a massive role in his debacle in the final. Follow German Open Finals LIVE Updates with InsideSport.IN
Lakshya Sen looked tremendous in both sets but couldn’t go on to win the set. He staged multiple comeback in the two sets with a brilliant defence in the second set saw him go 13-16 before he started to face intense pain that prevented him to challenge Vitdsarn.
Meanwhile, thrice Junior World Champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn finally won his first BWF title as a senior player.
World number 12 Sen came into the match with a 3-3 head-to-head record against Vitidsarn, ranked 20th, having beaten the Thai in their last meeting at Hylo Open last year.
In a battle of equals, Sen and Vitidsarn matched each other in speed in the rallies to move 4-4 before the Thai rode on his variations and deception to grab a comfortable 11-6 lead at the break.
Sen worked up his pace and took control of the net to make it 15-16 but an alert Vitidsarn managed to grab two game points with an overhead cross-court drop. Sen needed medical attention for a blister on his foot even as the Thai came up with a cross-court smash to pocket the opening game.
The gruelling semifinal against Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen seemed to have taken a toll on Sen as Vitidsarn jumped to a 7-3 lead in the second game before moving to 11-5 advantage after the change of sides.
The Indian needed the doctor’s attention again as he fought his way back with four straight points but Vitidsarn managed to move to 19-15 and then took five match points before sealing the second game and the match in the first chance.
German Open Badminton Final Highlights: Lakshya Sen loses FINAL to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn after apparent injury scare – Follow LIVE updates
Wins against:
✅ World No 5 Ginting
✅ HS Prannoy
✅ World No 1 AxelsenThis was already a fantastic week for Lakshya Sen, now hope he just recovers fully for All England. Draw tough as it is, needs to be 100%. https://t.co/8LxIbJqJjE pic.twitter.com/qASoEHnoZ8
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) March 13, 2022
Game 2:
- 21-15 to Vitidsarn, one-way traffic against injured Lakshya Sen.
- 18-15 to Vitidsarn, he is now back with A-game with the German Open title on the line.
- Lakshya Sen is in some sort of injury, allowed to continue after a change of shocks on the leg. Audiences come alive to lift the spirits.
- 13-16 to Lakshya Sen, he rallies to add three big points, can he change the context of his game in the next few mins?
- 15-10 to Vitidsarn, Lakshya Sen on backfoot with rally of points for the Thai opponent
- 12-9 to Vitidsarn, he finally breaks the jinx after the last few crucial minutes.
- 9-11 to Lakshya Sen, he rallies to add more points and reduces the deficit in his favour, top performance from the youngster.
- 7-11 to Lakshya Sen, the game still pretty much hangs in balance. Vitidsarn still needs his A-game to keep the lead.
- 10-5 to Vitisdarn, he is cruising through in this set with eyes on the title.
- 5-7 to Lakshya Sen, he recovers right on time to impressive feet movement.
- 7-2 to Vitidsarn, excellent backhand display from Thai opponent to keep the game under control.
- 2-4 to Lakshya Sen, the young gun acts quickly to keep it evenly poised in the second set.
- 3-0 to Vitidsarn, Lakshya Sen quickly needs to bounce back.
- 1-0 to Vitidsarn, showing his intentions to wrap it up in this set.
German Open Badminton Final Highlights: Lakshya Sen loses FINAL to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn after apparant injury scare – Follow LIVE updates
Game 1:
- 21-18 Lakshya Sen loses first set. Can he script a comeback with a BWF trophy on the line?
- The scoreline reads 20-18 in favour of Vitidsarn. Lakshya Sen looks in some serious problem. He is undertaking medical aid for an apparent foot injury (likely).
- Lakshya Sen reduces the deficit from 13-18 to 18-20.
German Open Badminton Final Highlights: Lakshya Sen loses FINAL to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn after apparent injury scare – Follow LIVE updates
Road to FINALS
Lakshya Sen (India)
- Defeated Viktor Axelsen [DEN] 21-13, 12-21, 22-20
- Defeated HS Prannoy (IND) 21-15, 21-16
- Defeated Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 21-7, 21-9
- Defeated Kantaphon Wangcharoen 21-6, 22-20
Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Thailand)
- Beat Zii Jia Lee [MAL]- 21-13, 21-12
- Beat Kenta Nishimoto [JPN]- 19-21, 21-18, 21-18
- Beat Jonatan Christie [INDONESIA] 22-20, 21-19
- Beat Parupalli Kashyap [IND] 21-13, 21-13
German Open 2022 Prize Money:
The total prize money for the tournament is US$180,000. Singles winners will get $13,500, while Doubles champions will get a total of $14,220.
Event | Winner | Finalist | Semi-finals | Quarter-finals | Last 16 |
Singles | $13,500 | $6,840 | $2,610 | $1,080 | $630 |
Doubles | $14,220 | $6,840 | $2,520 | $1,305 | $675 |
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