Lakshya enters Asian C’ship final

Rising Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen stormed into the finals after disposing off fourth-seed Indonesian Ikhsan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay in the semifinals of the Asia Junior Championships at Jakarta on Saturday.

Sixth-seeded Lakshya, who stunned second seed Li Shifeng in quarterfinals on Friday, saw off Rumbay 21-7, 21-14 on the fourth day of the individual events.

In the title showdown on Sunday, Lakshya will meet top-seeded Indonesian Kunlavut Vitidsaran who defeated third-seeded Chinese Yupeng Bai 21-14, 21-12 in another match.

"It feels good to be in the final. I am happy with the way I am playing now and hope to maintain the tempo in Sunday's final," said Lakshya after the semi-final match.

Though the entire match took 40 minutes, his first game was over in less than 16 minutes. In the second game, however, Rumbay did well to resurrect himself but the Indian was always ahead by at least three points.

The fourth seeded Indonesia played well in the second but could never come close to challenge the authority of Lakshya. On a couple of occasions, Rumbay surprised the Indian with some good net-play and cross-court smashes. But Lakshya was quick enough to return the compliment.

Talking about the finals, Lakshya said: "I have never faced him before. But I will definitely try and give my best shot against the top-seed," said Lakshya, who had won a Bronze in 2016 Asian Juniors.