Lakshya Sen has reached the final of Hylo Open. Photo: AP
\n\nLakshya Sen and PV Sindhu reached the finals of the Hylo Open Super 500 with straight-game wins in their respective semi-finals. Lakshya defeated France's Toma Junio Popov in the semi-final. The 2022 CWG gold medalist defeated Popov 21-17, 21-13. Sidhu defeated Anmol Kharb in an all-Indian semi-final. The two-time Olympic medalist registered a comfortable 21-13, 21-16 win.She will be up against eighth seed Line Hojamark Kjaersfeldt in the final on Sunday (November 1).
\n\nThe opening game saw short rallies, with Popov initially asking all the questions, but Lakshya did well to keep the scores level at 4-4. The Indian moved to 7-5, only to commit a net error. He soon extended his lead to 10-6, with the Frenchman making a few unforced errors. A smash gave Lakshya a five-point advantage at the break.
\n\nPopov found greater consistency in his strokes after the break and narrowed the deficit to 9-11 before sending a return long. Lakshya's defence stood tall against Popov. A lovely down-the-line smash from the Indian extended his lead, as he kept returning everything thrown at him to move to 16-11.
\n\nPopov found a second wind, constructing the…
Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/sports
