Lakshya Sen’s impressive run in the Indonesia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament ended with a quarterfinal loss to Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie in Jakarta on Friday. World number 12 Sen squandered an opening game advantage to go down 21-15 10-21 13-21 to home favourite Christie, ranked 3rd, in a 62-minute men’s singles match. Coming into the match with a 1-0 head-to-head record, Commonwealth Games champion Sen showed his prowess as he opened up an 8-5 lead and maintained it at the break.
Christie knocked off the three-point deficit after the resumption and made it 15-15 before the Indian reeled off six straight points to pocket the opening game.
After the change of sides, Sen lost his grip on the match as Christie looked like a different player, zooming to 11-2 in a jiffy before leveling the match Christie made a good start in the decider, galloping to a 5-1 lead.
The Indonesian ensured there was no hiccup as he marched to an 11-6 lead and maintained a healthy distance from his opponent to eventually seal the contest with a four-point burst.
