Muelheim An Der Ruhr (Germany): World Championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen continued his rich vein of form as he progressed to the men’s singles semifinals of the German Open Super 300 badminton tournament with a straight-game win over fellow Indian HS Prannoy here Friday. The 20-year-old Lakshya Sen, who had claimed his maiden Super 500 title at the India Open in January, saw off former top 10 player Prannoy 21-15, 21-16 in 39 minutes. The World No.14 had defeated Prannoy, currently ranked 24th, at the quarterfinals of India Open as well.
Sen will now face the winner of the other quarterfinal match between Olympic champion and top seed Viktor Axelsen and India’s Kidambi Srikanth to be played Saturday.
Sen had notched up Thursday a stunning 21-7, 21-9 win over fourth seeded Indonesian Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in a second-round match.
Prannoy made a positive start, opening up a 4-0 lead early on but Sen caught up with him at 10-10 and zoomed ahead after the interval to take a 1-0 lead in the tie.
The second game was a tight affair initially as the duo moved neck and neck with Sen managing a slender 11-10 lead at the break. But, just like in the first game, Sen produced a five-point burst to eventually seal the contest comfortably.