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Lakshya Sen reaches All England Open final, defeats Victor Lai in thrilling semifinal
Lakshya Sen defeated world No. 16 Victor Lai 21-16 18-21 21-15 in a match that lasted one hour and 37 minutes.
Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen stormed into the All England Open Badminton Championships men's singles final with a hard-fought victory over Canada's Victor Lai on Saturday. Sen, ranked 12th in the world, defeated the world No. 16 21-16 18-21 21-15 in a match that lasted one hour and 37 minutes.
Sen's mentor, Prakash Padukone, had reached the All England final in 1980 and 1981, winning the title in his first appearance in the summit clash. Meanwhile, Pullela Gopichand is the other Indian to win the All England title, doing so in 2001. Apart from them, only Prakash Nath (1947) and Saina Nehwal (2015 runner-up) came close with runner-up finishes.
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The match tested the physical endurance of both players, as they fought hard in multiple rallies, some of which went beyond 50 strokes. It was Sen's resilience which helped him find an extra gear, taking the opening game, which stayed neck-and-neck till 17-16. Then the Indian took four straight points to draw first blood.
Meanwhile, Lai fought back to draw level, taking the second game. In the third game, Sen was tactical, taking a 15-9 lead. But Lai once again fought back, closing the gap at 17-15. Then, Sen once again counter-attacked, winning four straight points.
Lai bagged bronze in the World C'ships in Paris last year. Meanwhile, it will be Sen's second All England final appearance, having finished as runner-up in 2022.
Sen will be gunning for glory in the All England final and will take on Chinese Taipei's Lin Chun-Yi on Sunday. Chun-Yi defeated world No. 2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, 21-14 18-21 21-16, in the other semifinal on Saturday.
Sen had beaten China's world No. 6 Li Shi Feng in straight games in the quarterfinals on Friday. He also stunned world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi of China in the first round.
