&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "All England Open: Lakshya Sen storms into final with narrow win over Victor Lai, to face Lin Chun-yi for title")
India’s ace shuttler Lakshya Sen stormed into the final of the All England Open Badminton Championships as he got the better of Victor Lai in the semifinal clash. Playing in Birmingham, Sen defeated Canada’s Lai 21-16, 18-21, 21-15 to book his place in the final. Sen now takes on Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-yi for the championship as he tries to improve from his 2022 silver medal performance.
Sen in All England Open final
Sen’s mentor, Prakash Padukone, had reached the All England final in 1980 and 1981 and won the title in his first appearance in the summit clash. The semifinal clash on Saturday between Sen and Lai tested the physical endurance of both players as they engaged in multiple rallies that went beyond 50 strokes. It was Sen’s ability to find an extra gear that helped the Indian take the opening game, which stayed neck-and-neck till 17-16. Sen then took four straight points to draw first blood.
But Lai, the first Canadian player to win a BWF World Championships medal, bounced back in the second game and took an 11-7 lead at the mid-game interval. Sen, who was by then struggling with blisters, fought back to draw level at 16-16, only for Lai to once again pull away and take the match in the decider. The 24-year-old’s experience meant that he at times took calculated risks to take a sizeable 15-9 lead.
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However, Lai is known for fighting till the end and he managed to close the gap at 17-15 before Sen once again won four straight points to reach the final. In the summit clash, he will face India Open champion Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei after the left-hander packed off second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 21-14, 18-21, 21-16 in an hour and 18 minutes.
