India’s Lakshya Sen finished as runner-up at the 2025 Hong Open Open Super 500 on Sunday after a 15-21, 12-21 loss to China’s Li Shi Feng on Sunday.
The run into the final broke a string of inconsistent performances for Sen as he entered the final of a Super 500 event for the first time in more than two years.
His last title clash at a Super 500 event was back in July 2023 at the Canada Open.
Speaking to BWF post the final, Sen said that he had a set routine to follow from the first match in the tournament, which included staying away from social media.
“I kept the routine the same as what I was doing on Day 1 [for the final],” Sen said. “I focused on recovery and everything because all the matches were very tough on the body.
“I even stayed away from social media a little bit,” he added with a chuckle.
Sen credited his good display in Hong Kong to the work he has been putting in over the last two or three months, keeping the recently concluded 2025 BWF World Championships in mind.
“Lot of the things which I did, maybe two or three months back, are helping,” he said. “It’s been a good week.
“I feel, especially coming from the World Championships, where things did not go as planned. We had trained well for it, put in good work for three or four weeks.
“Now it was time that I kept the momentum up. So, a lot of positives to take from this tournament,” he added.
With as many as seven first round exits this season before the World Championships, Sen was visibly short of match time.
He tried to make up for it with his training camps abroad, which included a lot of training matches.
Despite it, he suffered a first-round exit at the World Championships when he went down 17-21, 19-21 to world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi after a tough battle.
Having finally reaped his rewards for all the hard work in Hong Kong, Sen just hopes to keep going.
“I just want me to believe in myself more and keep going,” he said.
