Sen ends title drought with Aus Open victory

As Lakshya Sen's half-smash landed in Yushi Tanaka’s court, the top Indian shuttler closed his eyes and put his index fingers into his ears—a signature celebration of India cricketer KL Rahul — signifying shutting out the noise and doubts on his performance.

- Sandip Sikdar

After enduring a difficult season where he experienced less ups and more downs, Lakshya finally ended the drought to clinch his first title of the year at the $475,000 Australian Open in Sydney on Sunday. The 24-year-old capped a resurgent second half of the season with a commanding win in the men’s singles final to beat Japan's unseeded whirlwind Yushi Tanaka 21-15, 21-11 in a 38-minute showdown at the State Sports Centre.

Though the world No.14 had reached the Hong Kong Open final in September, this is his first title since winning the Syed Modi International in Lucknow in December 2024 and his first title outside India since the Canada Open in July 2023. “I feel really good after having a lot of ups and downs this season with a few injuries at the start of the year. I started the season not so great but happy with the way I played in the last few months and especially this week,” said the Almora born shuttler.