Lakshya Sen loses Japan Open 2023 semi-finals to Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie

Indian badminton player Lakshya Sen bowed out of the Japan Open 2023 after losing to Indonesian shuttler Jonatan Christie 21-15, 13-21, 21-16 in the Super 750 tournament’s semi-finals on Saturday.

In the semi-finals of the Japan Open, Lakshya Sen, the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, faced off against the formidable Indonesian player Jonatan Christie.

Despite Sen coming into the semis in a decent run of form, Christie was able to take the first game with relative ease with a score of 21-15. However, Sen refused to give up and made an impressive comeback in the second game, dominating the play and ultimately winning it with a score of 21-13.

Unfortunately, Christie regained his momentum in the third game and emerged victorious with a score of 21-16, securing his place in the final.

Prior to this, Sen had been in top form, defeating Koki Watanabe in straight sets during the quarter-finals. However, Saturday’s defeat marks his second consecutive semi-final exit, having lost to world no. 7 ranked Li Shifeng of China in the US Open Super 300 competition earlier this month.

Results at the Japan Open are considered in a player’s qualifying rankings for the Olympics, and this defeat means that Sen has some work to do to qualify for Paris next year.