Lakshya Sen stuns Olympic champion Axelsen, enters German Open final
Muelheim An Der Ruhr (Germany), Mar 12: World Championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen stunned Olympic gold winner Viktor Axelsen in a hard-fought match to enter the final of German Open Super 300 tournament here on Saturday.
The 20-year-old Sen, who had claimed his maiden Super 500 title at the India Open in January, continued his rich vein of form as he sent the world No. 1 and top-seed Axelsen packing with a 21-13 12-21 22-20 win in the semi-final that lasted one hour and 10 minutes.
It was a memorable performance from the world No. 12 Indian as he recorded his first win over his highly-fancied rival who has a 4-0 head-to-head record before Saturday's match.
In the final on Sunday, Sen will face Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn who beat Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in the other semi-final.
Sen was ahead throughout the first game that lasted 21 minutes. He did not give the Dane any chance to get ahead of him. Axelsen found it difficult to match Sen's pace in the first game.
Sen opened up with a 4-1 lead and then extended it to 9-4. But Axelsen narrowed it down to 7-9 before Sen grabbed four consecutive points to make it 13-7. Sen's attacking game paid dividends as he took five consecutive points to lead 18-10 before clinching the first game with ease.
Axelsen made a comeback in the second game to make it one all and take the match to the decider. He was trailing 3-8 early on but used his height and reach to good effect to take five consecutive points and level the score at 8-8 before zooming ahead. From there on, Sen lost way and Axelsen pocketed the second game without any fuss.
The two players left their best for the last as they fought tooth and nail in the dramatic deciding game. It turned out to be a battle of nerves as rallies got longer with both fighting for each point. From 2-2, it was 4-4 and then 6-6 before Axelsen zoomed ahead 15-8.
But the young Indian fought his way back in a remarkable fashion to close the gap to 15-17 and then to 17-19. He levelled the score 19-19 and then 20-20 before sealing the match with two consecutive points.
In the quarterfinals, Sen had seen off fellow Indian and former top 10 player HS Prannoy 21-15 21-16.
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Misa Bharti calls PM Modi 'old', gets slammed by BJP, JD(U)
Patna, May 2: RJD president Lalu Prasad’s eldest daughter Misa Bharti on Thursday drew flak from the BJP-led NDA in Bihar for an uncharitable reference to the "old" age of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Bharti, who is the RJD candidate from Patliputra, made the remarks while canvassing in the constituency where she attacked the NDA government at the Centre for bringing in the Agniveer scheme of recruitment in armed services.
In a video clip, purportedly of Wednesday, now viral on social media, the Rajya Sabha MP can be heard as saying: "What did this government do in 10 years? It brought in Agniveer. Young people fighting for the country will be retired at the age of 22. On the other hand, we have an old Prime Minister who at the age of 75 wants a third consecutive term".
Predictably, the BJP flew in rage and sought to remind the RJD leader that her father, too, was at a ripe age.
"PM Modi is much younger than Lalu Prasad. Misa Bharti should keep this in mind and think before heaping insults in this manner," said BJP national spokesman Syed Shahnawaz Hussain.
JD(U) chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar, whose party is headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and is an NDA partner, asked, "Does Misa Bharti speak of her father in a similar tone?".
Referring to Bharti's rival in Pataliputra, the JD(U) leader added: "She will learn her lessons. The blessings of Ram are with Ram Kripal".
Ram Kripal Yadav, a former close aide of the RJD supremo, had joined the BJP ahead of Lok Sabha polls in 2014 when he defeated Bharti and was rewarded with a berth in the Union council of ministers.
Five years later, Bharti suffered defeat at the hands of her father's disgruntled close aide for a second time.
Covering areas of rural Patna, Patliputra, where voting is scheduled in the final phase, is set to witness yet another straight contest between Bharti and Yadav.
