Lakshya Sen has kept India’s hopes alive at the All England Open in Birmingham after he stunned world No. 6 Li Shi Feng in straight games to storm into the semifinals of the prestigious tournament.
Lakshya, who was finalist in the 2022 edition, thrashed Li 21-13, 21-16 in the men’s singles quarterfinal that lasted an hour on Friday. In the 2025 edition, Lakshya had lost to the same opponent in the quarterfinal.
The world No. 12 dominated the first game and took a lead before Li made an attempt to claw back. But Lakshya counter-attacked to close the game.
In the second game there was a close contest between the two players with both bagging early points. However, Lakshya had a slim lead at the mid-game interval and then stepped up to seal the match. This was Lakshya’s eighth win in 15 matches against Li Shi Feng.
Lakshya, who had made it to the semifinal stage of the tournament in 2024, is now the only Indian shuttler left in the fray. He made a great start to this year’s All England Open, when he stunned world No. 1 and defending champion Shi Yuqi in the opening round. In the semifinals, Lakshya will now face Canada’s world No. 16 Victor Lai.
Earlier this week, the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost in the first round, while Malvika Bansod and Unnati Hooda also lost in the opening round of women’s singles.
Two-time Olympian PV Sindhu had withdrawn from the tournament after failing to reach Birmingham in time due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Sindhu remained stranded at the Dubai airport along with her coach before catching a flight back home.
While the mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila retired from their match on Thursday.
