Badminton news: Indian badminton star Lakshya Sen exhibited a commendable performance against Li Shifeng of China in the ongoing All England Open. Sen dominated former champion Shifeng in Birmingham in straight games, to seize the semifinal spot in the tournament. 

Sen ranks No. 12 in the World

In the badminton fraternity, Sen holds the 12th position in the world, and finished as the runner-up in the 2022 edition of the aforementioned tournament. This time, he trounced the World No. 6 21-13, 21-16 in one hour in the quarterfinal clash. Notably, the victory marks Sen’s third appearance at the All England Championships. 

Sen set to face Canada’s Victor Lai next

In the semifinals, Sen is slated to face Victor Lai from Canada, who beat Japan’s Koki Watanabe 18-21, 21-17, 21-15 in another quarterfinal match.

“Happy with the way I played both sets”: Sen

Post-match, Sen expressed satisfaction over his performance and the way he handled the physically demanding contest. He said, “I’m happy with the way I played both sets, and credit to him as well. He played a really solid game. There were some long rallies and both of us were getting tired, but I’m pleased with the way I stayed focused even after those exchanges.”

Furthermore, he said that his coach had advised him to stay mentally sharp and vigilant during exhausting rallies, and to avoid easy errors. 

Sen gets a head start in the match

Sen set his foot into the match with confidence, racing to a 4-1 lead before extending it to 10-4 with aggressive attacking play. Li appeared hesitant in his movement, as Sen maintained an 11-6 advantage at the mid-game interval.” Although Li tried making a comeback to narrow the gap to 13-15, Sen quickly dominated and wrapped up the opening game within 24 minutes. 

Second game sees tighter contest

The second game saw tight efforts from both ends, when Sen and Shifeng locked at 6-6. However, Sen delivered sharp smashes and clever net play, to edge ahead at the interval. From there, the Indian exhibited remarkable court coverage. His brilliant defensive backhand helped him draw the lead to 17-13. 

Shifeng briefly prolonged the match by winning a 45-shot rally, but Sen was the first to land the match point. In the final exchange, Shifeng sent a return long, causing Sen to raise both fists in celebration after seizing the victory.