Indian badminton rising star, Lakshya Sen clinched the Asian Junior Championships title after defeating Junior World No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in Jakarta on Sunday.
Facing the top seed and home favourite Vitidsarn, the 16-year-old claimed a straight game victory beating the Thai shuttler 21-19, 21-18, to become just the third Indian and first in six years time, to win a singles gold in the competition
Gautam Thakkar in 1965 and Olympic silver-medallist PV Sindhu in 2012, were the other two Indian shutters to win a singles gold.
Meanwhile, Pranav Chopra/Prajkta Sawant (Bronze) in 2009, Sameer Verma (Silver) and Sindhu (Bronze) in 2011, and Sameer Verma (Bronze) in 2012 are the other Indians to win a medal at the Badminton Asia Championship.
Sen’s straight-game victory over Vitidsarn was his biggest career win. The sixth seed had earlier stunned second seeded Chinese Li Shifeng 21-14, 21-12, in the quarter-finals and beat Ikhsan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay of Indonesia 21-7, 21-14, – both in straight sets – to reach the final.
The former junior world number one had won a bronze two years ago at the same competition after losing in the semi-final.
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His run to the final was a stunning affair as the ninth ranked shuttler dropped just one game in the entire competition defeating superior ranked opponents in his final three matches.
For long Sen has been tipped for grater things in the Badminton circuit and his achievement today proves his mettle and the potential he has to take India to new heights.