Dutch Open 2021: Defending champion Lakshya Sen loses to Singapore's Loh Kean Yew in final

Almere: Defending champion Lakshya Sen of India lost to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew in the men’s singles final of the Dutch Open 2021 on Sunday. The world No 25 and tournament top seed Sen went down to the 41st-ranked Yew 12-21, 16-21 in the final, which lasted for 36 minutes. On his way to the final, he had defeated Canada’s Xiaodong Sheng, Portugal’s Bernardo Atilano, Singapore’s Jia Heng Teh and Belgium’s Julien Carraggi in the earlier rounds. The 20-year-old Indian had won the men’s singles title in the 2019 edition of the Dutch Open and was the top-seed this year. The 2020 edition of the badminton tournament was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The other Indians in the men’s singles, including Ajay Jayaram, Siril Verma, and Rahul Chittaboina, lost in the opening round of the tournament that began on Wednesday. Ukraine International winner Priyanshu Rajawat, who came through the qualifiers, also suffered a first-round defeat while Aryamann Tandon couldn’t make it past the qualifying rounds. In the women’s singles, Aakarshi Kashyap was the best Indian performer, reaching the semi-finals before losing to top seed Abigail Holden of England in the last four 21-17, 21-9. Ira Sharma lost to Hungary’s Vivien Sandorhazi 19-21, 23-21, 15-21 in the quarter-finals after having defeated compatriot Ananya Praveen in the round of 16. Among others, Samiya Imad Farooqui also lost in the round of 16, while Keyura Mopati’s campaign ended in the first round of the main draw.