Lakshya Sen displayed immense grit fighting blisters on his foot and severe cramps as he beat Canada’s Victor Lai to enter the final of the All England Open in Birmingham on Saturday. He is now one win away from ending India’s 25-year wait for the title.
The match lasted for one hour and 37 minutes before he clinched the semifinal clash 21-16, 18-21, 21-15 win. 21-year-old Lai had won a bronze medal at last year’s World Championships in Paris. Lakshya has the experience of playing the All England final when he had finished runner-up in the 2022 edition of the prestigious tournament.
In the summit clash, the 24-year-old will meet world No. 11 Lin Chun-yi of Chinese Taipei on Sunday.
Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) are the only Indians to have won the All England title.
Both shuttlers engaged in long rallies registering as many as 86 shots but Lakshya was precise in his defence and strokeplay. The semifinal encounter had an intense start to it and opened with a 52 shot rally as both player tested each other with the game moving neck-and-neck.
In the first game when Lakshya moved ahead with a 10-8 lead, Lai clawed back with a smash and a brilliant net shot to draw parity. At the break, Lakshya took a one-point lead and then stepped up his attack to make it 18-16 before grabbing three game points.
The second game too began with the same intensity before Lakshya had to leave the court at 3-4 to get treatment for his blisters on his foot. When play resumed, Lai played defensive to lead 9-4. Lashya tried his best to claw back but Lai went to the interval with a four-point lead. The Indian shuttler fought back to make it 16-16, but Lai regained the lead at 18-16 before bagging two game points to force a decider.
In the third and deciding game, Lakshya moved ahead with a 4-2 lead before Lai took a medical timeout after he bruised his finger. Upon resumption, Lai made it 4-4. When the Canadian showed signs of fatigue, Lakshya took a 9-6 lead and then a smash followed by excellent play at the net gave the Indian a 11-7 lead at the interval.
Lakshya received treatment for cramps during the break and was later shown a yellow card for taking to the court late. Despite the cramps, Lakshya showed immense resilience as he moved to a 15-9 lead. The Canadian stayed in the fight and narrowed the gap to 14-16.
Lakshya mustered some energy for the final burst as he moved to 17-14 with a smash and then to 18-15 when Lai hit wide. Another smash followed taking Lakshya withing two points of victory, then another net error was made by Lai. Lakshya sealed the match with a big smash to clinch a memorable win.
