Lakshya Sen Ends Title Drought, Wins Australian Open Super 500 in Dominant Style

Sydney, November 23, 2025 — India’s Lakshya Sen produced a fast, fluent and fully commanding performance to clinch his first title of the season, defeating Japan’s Yushi Tanaka in the men’s singles final of the $475,000 Australian Open Super 500 on Sunday.

The 24-year-old from Almora, who has endured a rough stretch since finishing fourth at the Paris Olympics, capped his return to top form with a 38-minute masterclass, outplaying Tanaka 21-15, 21-11. Sen celebrated with his trademark “fingers in the ears” gesture, signalling a silencing of doubts and criticism.

A Much-Needed Breakthrough

Lakshya, the 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, last won a major title at the Syed Modi International Super 300 in 2024. His previous Super 500 crown came at the Canada Open 2024, though he narrowly missed another earlier this year, finishing runner-up at the Hong Kong Super 500 in September.

Facing world No. 26 Tanaka — winner of the Orléans Masters and the US Open Super 300 in 2025 — Lakshya dictated the tempo with sharp placement, tight net control, and relentless pace, never allowing the Japanese star to settle.

With this title, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion becomes only the second Indian shuttler to win a BWF World Tour trophy in 2025, after Ayush Shetty’s US Open Super 300 victory.

Match Summary

Lakshya started strong, establishing a 6–3 lead as Tanaka faltered with repeated net errors and misjudged lifts. A thunderous 35-shot rally set the tone before India’s sizeable crowd in Sydney roared “Lakshya! Lakshya!” during the mid-game interval.

After the break, Lakshya tightened his grip, keeping the shuttle low, flat and fast — denying Tanaka the length needed to unleash his signature whipping smashes. Backhand winners, cross-court drives and precise judgement at the backline pushed the Indian ahead 17–13, before he wrapped up the opening game with ease.

The second game was one-way traffic. Lakshya’s pace and accuracy never dipped as Tanaka became increasingly erratic, hitting long and into the net. Sen surged ahead 10–5, extended his lead to 13–6 after a tight net duel, and unleashed a sequence of smashes to reach 19–8.

He earned 10 match points and sealed the title with a crisp cross-court return.

Indian Badminton’s Season So Far

While India’s top pairs Satwiksairaj Rankireddy–Chirag Shetty reached the finals in Hong Kong and China, and Kidambi Srikanth finished runner-up at the Malaysia Masters, Lakshya's win marks a rare top-tier triumph for India in 2025.

Sen’s performance in Sydney serves as a statement — a timely resurgence ahead of a packed 2026 season.