Lakshya Sen outlasts Kalle Koljonen, reaches Hylo Open semifinals

FILE PHOTO: Lakshya Sen (in pic) turned around an early deficit and shifted the rhythm of the match, which put Kalle Koljonen on the defensive. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Lakshya Sen came from behind to defeat Finland’s Kalle Koljonen 14-21, 21-17, 21-13 in the quarterfinals of the Hylo Open, a BWF World Tour Super 500 event, in Saarbrücken, Germany, on Friday.

Seventh-seeded Indian Lakshya built his rallies on pace variation. He mixed deep, tight clears to the back corners with sudden half-smash drives, which kept his opponent moving from side to side and denied him control of the tempo from the centre of the court.

He was also quick to punish short lifts. By taking the shuttle early, on the rise, Lakshya cut down his opponent’s reaction time and kept the pressure on at the mid-court.

There were, however, areas to tighten. Lakshya rushed a few cross-court lifts under heavy pressure, and he will want flatter trajectories on his defensive blocks so that, in the future, his opponents cannot launch an immediate counter-attack.

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World No. 67 Koljonen bagged the opener 21-14 after controlling the pace with aggressive, deep clears and sharp cross-court angles, which kept Lakshya pinned to the back corners.

The 25-year-old Lakshya scrambled hard and retrieved several tight drops with quick footwork. But he was forced into hurried defensive lifts that opened up the court. To stay in the contest, he needed to stay composed on every shot, extend the rallies and force errors to break his opponent’s rhythm.

World No. 14 Lakshya did just that as he led 11-7 at the mid-game interval of the second game. He shifted the rhythm of the match, which put the 32-year-old Koljonen on the defensive.

Lakshya tightened his length and used crisp, penetrating clears to keep Koljonen pinned deep at the baseline.

Whenever Koljonen offered a short or floating lift, Lakshya stepped forward to take the shuttle early. He finished the rallies with sharp cross-court drives and clever placement.

In the decider, from 4-4, Lakshya surged ahead to take a five-point lead at the final change of ends after dictating rallies with deep clears and early, sharp finishes.

Soon, the Indian sealed the decider 21-13, and his control of the final game booked his place in the semifinal where he will face French World No. 13 Toma Junior Popov.