<p>Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen stormed into the final of the Canada Open Super 500 badminton tournament with a straight-game win over Japan's Kenta Nishimoto here.</p>.<p>Sen, who has slipped to world number 19 after struggling to find his form early in the season, saw off the world number 11 Japanese 21-17 21-14 to enter his only second Super 500 final and first BWF summit clash in over a year.</p>.<p>The 21-year-old Indian, who claimed a bronze at the 2021 World Championships, will face China's Li Shi Feng in the final on Sunday.</p>.<p>Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, however, couldn't produce her top game and went down 14-21 15-21 to world no. 1 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in her women’s singles semifinal.</p>.<p>A former world number 6, Sen had undergone nose surgery for a deviated septum after the World Championships last August and took a lot of time to recover after treatment.</p>.<p>Sen last played a final at the Commonwealth Games in August last year. After a series of early exits from tournaments, he showed signs of recovery when he reached the semifinals of the Thailand Open.</p>.<p>Sen has a 4-2 head-to-head record against his final opponent Li Shi Feng, the reigning All-England champion. Sen had defeated him recently at the Thailand Open.</p>.<p>Sen struggled to find his length early on and sprayed the shuttle long and at the net to find himself 0-4 down at the start of the match but he slowly engaged his rival in rallies to catch up at 8-8.</p>.<p>Nishimoto managed to hold a slender 11-10 lead at the interval after Sen sprayed one at the net but soon the Indian turned the tables after resumption and kept moving ahead.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/other-sports/what-makes-neeraj-special-1235237.html" target="_blank">What makes Neeraj special?</a></strong></p>.<p>His trademark smashes, quick movements and precision in returns helped him to stay a step ahead as he wrapped up the game when his opponent hit long.</p>.<p>The second game started on an even note as the duo fought tooth and nail initially but once again Sen found his way as he was more alert. He kept a grip on the fast rallies.</p>.<p>From 2-2, the duo moved to 9-9 before Sen managed a two-point cushion at the break after Nishimoto hit long.</p>.<p>The Japanese sent the shuttle long even as Sen pounced on anything weak and produced some exquisite smashes to move to 19-11.</p>.<p>A body return earned Sen seven match points and he sealed it on the second attempt when Nishimoto found the net again.</p>.<p>The BWF World Tour is divided into six levels, namely World Tour Finals, four Super 1000, six Super 750, seven Super 500, and 11 Super 300.</p>.<p>One other category of the tournament, the BWF Tour Super 100 level, also offers ranking points.</p>
<p>Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen stormed into the final of the Canada Open Super 500 badminton tournament with a straight-game win over Japan's Kenta Nishimoto here.</p>.<p>Sen, who has slipped to world number 19 after struggling to find his form early in the season, saw off the world number 11 Japanese 21-17 21-14 to enter his only second Super 500 final and first BWF summit clash in over a year.</p>.<p>The 21-year-old Indian, who claimed a bronze at the 2021 World Championships, will face China's Li Shi Feng in the final on Sunday.</p>.<p>Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, however, couldn't produce her top game and went down 14-21 15-21 to world no. 1 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in her women’s singles semifinal.</p>.<p>A former world number 6, Sen had undergone nose surgery for a deviated septum after the World Championships last August and took a lot of time to recover after treatment.</p>.<p>Sen last played a final at the Commonwealth Games in August last year. After a series of early exits from tournaments, he showed signs of recovery when he reached the semifinals of the Thailand Open.</p>.<p>Sen has a 4-2 head-to-head record against his final opponent Li Shi Feng, the reigning All-England champion. Sen had defeated him recently at the Thailand Open.</p>.<p>Sen struggled to find his length early on and sprayed the shuttle long and at the net to find himself 0-4 down at the start of the match but he slowly engaged his rival in rallies to catch up at 8-8.</p>.<p>Nishimoto managed to hold a slender 11-10 lead at the interval after Sen sprayed one at the net but soon the Indian turned the tables after resumption and kept moving ahead.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/other-sports/what-makes-neeraj-special-1235237.html" target="_blank">What makes Neeraj special?</a></strong></p>.<p>His trademark smashes, quick movements and precision in returns helped him to stay a step ahead as he wrapped up the game when his opponent hit long.</p>.<p>The second game started on an even note as the duo fought tooth and nail initially but once again Sen found his way as he was more alert. He kept a grip on the fast rallies.</p>.<p>From 2-2, the duo moved to 9-9 before Sen managed a two-point cushion at the break after Nishimoto hit long.</p>.<p>The Japanese sent the shuttle long even as Sen pounced on anything weak and produced some exquisite smashes to move to 19-11.</p>.<p>A body return earned Sen seven match points and he sealed it on the second attempt when Nishimoto found the net again.</p>.<p>The BWF World Tour is divided into six levels, namely World Tour Finals, four Super 1000, six Super 750, seven Super 500, and 11 Super 300.</p>.<p>One other category of the tournament, the BWF Tour Super 100 level, also offers ranking points.</p>