Hylo Open: Lakshya Sen Downs Christie 21-17, 21-10

Lakshya Sen produced a dominant performance to win the Hylo Open Super 500 men's singles title, beating Indonesia's Jonathan Christie 21-17, 21-10 in the final on Sunday.

The final was played in Saarbrucken, Germany. Lakshya's win completed a memorable double for India, following PV Sindhu's women's singles triumph earlier in the event.

The result carried extra significance for Lakshya. He had been runner-up at the All England Championship earlier this year, and he is the Commonwealth Games 2022 champion. Going into the final, he had lost three of his four previous meetings with Christie, but he believed he could beat the Indonesian, as he had done at the Paris Olympics.

In the first game, Lakshya started quickly and led 8-4. Christie reduced the margin to 9-8, but a net cord during one rally helped Lakshya take back the lead. Lakshya then found his rhythm, using strong smashes and well-placed shots to win key rallies. He reached 16-10 and then 18-12. Christie's service error gave Lakshya three game points, and Christie's shot into the net allowed Lakshya to win the opening game.

The second game followed a similar pattern. Lakshya built a 6-3 lead and kept ahead through the interval, where he had a four-point advantage.

After the change of ends, Christie tried to mount a comeback and brought the score to 16-9. He was unable to close the gap. A wrong line call by Christie was reversed through video review, which gave Lakshya 10 championship points. Christie then made another net error, and Lakshya clinched the title.

The Hylo Open win follows Lakshya's Australian Open title in 2025 and his runner-up finish at the Hong Kong Open, adding another major honour to his record.