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Lakshya Sen's dream run came to an end in the German Open final in Muelheim An Der Ruhr, Germany, on Sunday.
Thailand’s rising star Kunlavut Vitidsarn stopped Lakshya's spectacular winning spree with a 21-18, 21-15 victory in the men’s singles final of the BWF World Tour Super 300 tournament.
Much was expected from Lakshya Sen after his sensational victory over reigning Olympic champion and top seed Viktor Axelsen in the semifinals on Saturday.
However, Lakshya could not repeat Saturday’s magical display as he crashed to a straight-game loss against Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
World Championships bronze medalist Lakshya tried hard but could not halt the 21-year-old Thai’s spectacular run.
In a battle between two unseeded players, world No. 20 Vitidsarn produced a scintillating exhibition of power and accuracy to shatter Lakshya's hopes.
The 20-year-old Lakshya, who grabbed his maiden Super 500 title at the Indian Open in January, fought hard for nearly an hour but could not overcome a stiff challenge from Vitidsarn.
Three-time world junior champion Vitidsarn, thus, recorded his fourth victory over world No. 12 Lakshya in their seventh meeting on the international circuit.
Lakshya fails to fully recover from grueling semis against Axelsen
The grueling semifinal against world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen seemed to have taken a toll on Lakshya as he was unable to produce the same fireworks against Vitidsarn.
The young Thai capitalized on a slightly sluggish Lakshya as he edged out the in-form Indian with a proper mix of aggression and power.
In both games, Lakshya had his chances but the Thai did not allow him to take the initiative.
Results (Finals)
Men’s singles
Lakshya Sen lost to Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Thailand) 18-21, 15-21 (57 minutes)
Women’s singles
He Bing Jiao (China) bt 3-Chen Yu Fei (China) 21-14, 27-25 (61 minutes)
Men’s doubles
Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin (Malaysia) bt Liu Yu Chen-Ou Xuan Yi (China) 23-21, 16-21, 21-14 (70 minutes)
Women’s doubles
1-Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan (China) bt 7-Gabriela Stoeva-Stefani Stoeva (Bulgaria) 21-16, 29-30, 21-19 (107 minutes)
Mixed doubles
1-Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Thailand) bt Ou Xuan Yi-Huang Ya Qiong (China) 21-11, 21-9 (35 minutes).
