All England Open: India’s Lakshya Sen stuns former champion Li Shifeng to reach semifinals

Birmingham: India’s Lakshya Sen delivered an impressive performance to reach the semifinals of the USD 1,450,000 All England Open, defeating former champion Li Shifeng of China in straight games here.

The world No. 12 Indian, who finished runner-up in the 2022 edition, beat the world No. 6 Chinese 21-13, 21-16 in exactly an hour to set up a semifinal clash with Canada’s Victor Lai. Lai advanced after overcoming Japan’s Koki Watanabe 18-21, 21-17, 21-15 in another quarterfinal.

This marks Lakshya’s third appearance in the semifinals of the prestigious tournament.

“I’m happy with the way I played both games. Credit to him as well — he played a really solid match. There were some long rallies and both of us were getting tired, but I’m glad I managed to stay focused even after those rallies,” Lakshya said.

“My coach also told me to be extra prepared after long rallies because he would be tired too, so I should avoid making easy mistakes. I’m pleased with the way I’m moving on court and now it’s important to recover well so that I can move well again tomorrow (Saturday),” he added.

Lakshya began confidently, racing to a 4-1 lead and extending it to 10-4 with aggressive attacking play while Shifeng appeared slightly hesitant in his movement. The Indian held a comfortable 11-6 lead at the mid-game interval.

Though Lakshya briefly struggled to counter Shifeng’s powerful overhead crosscourt smashes, he stayed in control and moved ahead 15-11.

Shifeng reduced the deficit to 13-15 with a strong rally, but Lakshya regained momentum and stretched the lead to 18-13, aided by a fortunate net cord.

The Indian player remained dominant in the opening game and wrapped it up in 24 intense minutes.

Shifeng looked sharper at the start of the second game, with both players level at 6-6 early on.

A body smash followed by a clever net shot gave Lakshya a two-point lead, but Shifeng responded with a sharp crosscourt smash and took advantage of a backline judgement error by the Indian to level the score at 9-9. Lakshya, however, produced another powerful smash to carry a narrow one-point lead into the break.

Shifeng again closed the gap to 12-13 with a body smash, but Lakshya raised his intensity, covering the court with remarkable energy as he repeatedly dived to keep rallies alive.

A superb defensive backhand helped him extend the lead to 17-13. Shifeng stayed in the contest briefly by winning a gruelling 45-shot rally when trailing 15-19, but Lakshya soon reached match points.

Although the Indian produced a weak return in the closing moments, Shifeng’s shot went long, allowing Lakshya to celebrate a commanding victory.