Bangkok, May 15 (UNI): Young sensation Lakshya Sen handed India a perfect start in the historic Thomas Cup final against Indonesia as he defeated world No. 5 Anthony Ginting in the opening tie on Sunday.
Sen registered a come from behind 8-21, 21-17, 21-16 win against Ginting. This was his second successive win over the world no 5 shuttler. The 20-year-old Indian has defeated Ginting in the German Open round-16 match in straight games 21-9, 21-9 earlier this year.
The opening game was a close affair before Ginting with his clever shots held 11-7 lead at the time of breather. Post break, the Indonesian continued to pile up points. He raced to 20-7 with 12 straight points and took the game 21-8 in 17 minutes.
In the second game, Sen changed the gears and held 11-7 lead at mid-game interval. After the break, Ginting reduced the deficit to 11-12 but Sen was not ready to gave up the lead easily and held 17-14 advantage and succeeded in forcing the decider by taking the second set 21-17.
The Indonesian dominated the decider in the early proceedings of the game and raced to 11-7 lead. Post interval, Sen levelled it up 12-all with 5 straight points. Then, he was all guns blazing and handed India a perfect start by wrapping up the opening singles tie with 8-21, 21-17, 21-17 win.
