Lakshya Sen ends title drought with Australian Open win

young new delhi: As Lakshya Sen’s half-smash landed in Yushi Tanaka’s margaret court, the top out amerind 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.

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.

“It is great to be on the winning side. I came close in the Hong Kong Open as well. Throughout the season I was just putting in a lot of work that eventually paid off and now looking forward to the next season.”

The last couple of years hasn’t been easy for Sen. There have been days, and at times weeks, where the India No.1 has been fabulous, showing glimpses of the past that made him win the 2021 World Championships bronze or make the cut for the 2022 All England Open final.

But at other times, he has experienced meltdowns, giving away matches from winning positions — the best example being the semi-finals and bronze playoff at the 2024 Paris Olympics — much to the dismay of his coaches and team.

In the first half of 2025, Sen was barely able to compete at the highest level, suffering 10 early round (Round 1 and 2) exits in 12 tournaments with only one semi-final appearance at the Macau Open in August. It was only at the Hong Kong Open in September when he regained his touch to reach his first final of the year before suffering three more first round exits in four tournaments.

But Sen has put up a better show in the last couple of months with a quarter-final finish at Hylo Open and semi-finals at the Japan Masters before finally clinching the Super 500 event on Sunday.

“I’m truly delighted for Lakshya. This victory was long overdue and so well deserved. What has impressed me the most over his last three tournaments is the remarkable fighting spirit he has shown. I was a little worried when he had fever the night before his semi-final against Chou Tien (Chen), but he showed tremendous grit and composure,” said coach and national selector U Vimal Kumar.

“Today, he played with such calmness and confidence. He stayed solid in the long rallies and that completely dented his opponent’s belief. It was also wonderful to see him timing his big smashes so well and scoring freely with them, unsettling a player who usually thrives on getting everything back.”

Sen opened with wins over Chinese Taipei’s Su Li Yang and Chi Yu Jen before overcoming compatriot Ayush Shetty in the quarter-finals. His standout performance came in the semis where he produced a spirited comeback to topple world No.3 Chou.

Sen is the third Indian after Saina Nehwal (2014 and 2016) and Kidambi Srikant (2017) to win the Australian Open. “This win is a timely boost for Lakshya and the entire team as they enter an important five-week phase of preparation for the new season, beginning with the Malaysian Open in January followed by the India Open and Indonesia Open.”

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