Saarbrücken, Oct 31 — Lakshya Sen beat France's Toma Junior Popov 21-17, 21-13 in the men's singles semi-final of the Hylo Open Super 500 on Saturday to reach the final of the BWF World Tour event at the Saarlandhalle in Saarbrücken, Germany.

Source: Khel Now

The seventh-seeded Indian won in straight games in 41 minutes, according to the match report, and the tournament bracket records the same 21-17, 21-13 scoreline. The win improves Sen's head-to-head record against Popov to 3-2 — the two had shared their four previous meetings.

Source: The World Opinion / 2026 Hylo Open bracket

It is Sen's first final since March, when he reached the All England Open final and lost to Chinese Taipei's Lin Chun-yi. Sen is a former Hylo Open champion, having won the men's singles title here in 2019, Khel Now noted.

Sen had reached the last four the hard way, dropping a game in each of his earlier rounds — including a quarter-final comeback against Finland's Kalle Koljonen, whom he beat 14-21, 21-17, 21-13. Popov, by contrast, had dropped only one game in the tournament before the semi-final and was chasing a fourth final of his season.

India will contest both singles finals on Sunday: P.V. Sindhu earlier on Saturday beat compatriot Anmol Kharb 21-13, 21-16 in the women's singles semi-final to reach her second final in two weeks, a result reported separately by Awaaz Punjab.