SaarLorLux Open | Lakshya Sen and Kiran George set up semi-final clash

Young Indian shuttlers Lakshya Sen and Kiran George have won their respective quarter-finals and set up an all-Indian semi-finals at the SaarLorLux Open in Saarbrucken, Germany. Sen, seeded eighth in the tournament, won his quarter-final match against Germany’s Max Weisskirchen in 29 minutes. The Youth Olympic Games silver medallist breezed through the German 21-13, 21-16. George booked his place in the last four with a 21-14, 23-21 win against 17-year-old Christo Popov of France. The 19-year-old needed just 10 minutes more than his compatriot Sen, as George took 39 minutes to seal his last-four berth.

George, who is ranked 156 in the world, is yet to drop a game at the Super 100 tournament and will be confident of causing an upset when he is up against Sen on Saturday. George has already ousted a seeded player when he defeated sixth seed Toma Junior Popov in the second round.

World No 51 Sen, meanwhile, is looking to clinch back-to-back Super 100 titles after his Dutch Open win earlier in October as he continues to impress in the senior circuit. If the 18-year-old, who hails from Uttarakhand, indeed goes all the way, it will be a hat-trick of titles as his previous two tournaments (Dutch Open Super 100 and Belgian International Challenge) saw him emerge victorious as well.

The semi-final in Saarbrucken on Saturday will be the fifth meeting between George and Sen in the international arena, with Sen keeping a clean sweep record, winning all four previous matches. The winner between George and Sen will meet either Weng Hong Yang or fifth seed Toby Penty in the final.