Lakshya Sen ends title drought, emerges Australian Open champion

Facing world No. 26 Tanaka, winner of two Super 300 titles this year at the Orléans Masters and the US Open, Lakshya displayed control, sharp placement and clean execution, wrapping up the contest without dropping a game.

With this victory, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion became only the second Indian to win a BWF World Tour title this season, following Ayush Shetty’s maiden Super 300 triumph at the US Open.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had reached the finals at the Hong Kong and China Masters, while Kidambi Srikanth also logged a runner-up finish at the Malaysia Masters earlier in the year.

Lakshya made a confident start, opening up a 6-3 lead as Tanaka committed a flurry of errors -- hitting into the net, going wide and overcooking his lifts. A 35-shot rally ended with the Japanese shuttler again finding the net, before a lucky net cord finally broke Lakshya’s run of points.

Two crisp cross-court smashes on either flank had Lakshya on the floor as Tanaka closed the gap to 7-9, but the Indian carried a three-point cushion into the mid-game interval after the Japanese sprayed another shot to the net.

Chants of 'Lakshya! Lakshya' rang around the arena during the mid-game intervals, with a sizable Indian crowd turning up to support him. The Indian tightened his grip thereafter, dominating the net exchanges and keeping the shuttle flat and deep, denying Tanaka the length he needed to unleash his whipping smashes as he moved ahead 13-9.

Tanaka responded with a powerful smash, followed by a long error from Lakshya and a sharp net shot to make it 12-13. But Lakshya again pulled away, opening up a four-point lead at 17-13 with a backhand smash and another fierce cross-court winner. Tanaka tried to stay in the hunt but two long errors handed Lakshya five game points. The Indian converted immediately as Tanaka drove another shuttle to the net.

Lakshya said making a good beginning to match was important. "It was important to have a good start, and keep the momentum in the last set because it was quite even in the first one. I got a good lead and I could finish it off. The second set started on a good note and then I just kept the lead to finish the match," the Indian noted.

The second game turned into a one-sided affair as Lakshya kept up the intensity, continuing to play fast, flat returns even as Tanaka tried stretching him with his trademark whipping smashes but those were far too few to pose any challenge.

The Japanese overdid his attack and his inconsistency overshadowed his good moments as Lakshya moved ahead 8-4. A flat cross-court drive pushed Lakshya to 10-5, and he secured a six-point lead at the interval with another thunderous smash.

Lakshya showed excellent backline judgement as Tanaka repeatedly floated the shuttle long. After winning a tight net duel, the Indian extended the lead to 13-6. Tanaka struggled to withstand Lakshya's power, continuing to hit wide and into the net as the lead swelled to 17-8.

Lakshya then hammered a barrage of smashes to move to 19-8 and soon earned 10 match points with another fine shot near the net. He squandered one with a net error but sealed the title with a sharp cross-court return.

The Indian said his focus was on winning each point, rather than getting carried away. "On the moment he knew he could win: In the second set I was quite far off in the lead, but I didn't want to get too inside my head so I wouldn't relax too much. In the back of my mind it was there but I was just trying to focus on playing one point at a time," he said.