Sydney: A fluent Lakshya Sen ended a difficult stretch on the international circuit by clinching his first title of the 2025 season, defeating Japan’s Yushi Tanaka in the Australian Open men’s singles final, here Sunday.
The 24-year-old from Almora, enduring a tough phase after finishing fourth at the Paris Olympics, capped a resurgent week with a commanding 21-15 21-11 win over 26-year-old Tanaka.
Emerging champion after a 38-minute final of the USD 475,000 Super 500 event, the Indian celebrated the moment by putting his fingers in his ears.
“I have seen a lot of ups and downs this season, with a few injuries at the start of the season. But I kept my hard work going throughout the season and I am very happy to end the season on a good note,” said Lakshya.
“I’m very excited, looking forward to the next season now and I am really happy with the way I played today and this week.”
Lakshya, a 2021 World Championships bronze-medallist, had last won a Super 300 title at the Syed Modi International in Lucknow in 2024.
However, a top-tier crown had eluded him since his triumph at the
Canada Open the same year, though he came close at the Hong Kong Super 500 in September when he finished runner-up.
Facing world No. 26 Tanaka, winner of two Super 300 titles this year at the Orléans Masters and the US Open, Lakshya displayed control, sharp placement and clean execution, wrapping up the contest without dropping a game.
With this victory, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion became only the second Indian to win a BWF World Tour title this season, following Ayush Shetty’s maiden Super 300 triumph at the US Open.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had reached the finals at the
Hong Kong and China Masters, while Kidambi Srikanth also logged a runner-up finish at the Malaysia Masters earlier in the year.
Lakshya made a confident start, opening up a 6-3 lead as Tanaka committed a flurry of errors -- hitting into the net, going wide and overcooking his lifts.