Mulheim an der Ruhr (Germany), March 13 : World champions bronze medallist shuttler Lakshya Sen finished as runners-up in the German Open Super 300 after losing the final 18-21,15-21 to Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand here on Sunday. On his way to the finals, the young Indian sensation stunned the world no 1 and olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the semifinals. The Indian edged past his compatriot H S Prannoy in the quarterfinals. In the Round-16, he demolished world No. 5 and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Anthony Ginting of Indonesia 21-7, 21-9 in just 34 minutes of play. The Almora boy, ranked 12 in the world, had trounced the world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore 24-22, 21-17 in the India Open to win his maiden Super 500 title in January. In the opening game, Vitidsarn took up early 3 point lead but Sen who looked calm in the beginning changed his pace and levelled it up 4-4 with his smash shots. The Thai shuttler then shifted a momentun into his favour as he bagged five consecutive points and head into the mid-game break with 11-6 lead. Post-break, Vitidsarn continued to earn points and extended his lead to 13-6. With his clever play Sen reduced score deficit to 15-16. A tough contest between the two shuttlers continued but in the end the Thai took the game 21-18 in 31 minutes of play. Vitidsarn continue to dominate the proceedings in the second game as he raced to 7-2 lead over Sen. The Thai shuttler succeeded in building pressure over the Indian and went on to breather with 11-5 lead. Post-break, Sen shifted his gear and reduced the gap in score to 9-11 with four points in a row. But the Thai was not ready to lose the grip and extended a lead to 16-11. Sen did managed to earn few points and decreased the gap in the scores but it was enough to save the match. BAV RNJ
