Lakshya Sen battles cramps, blisters to reach All England Open final

Birmingham: India's Lakshya Sen defeated Canada's Victor Lai, winning his place in the final of the All England Open here on Saturday. The win takes the country one step closer to ending India's 25-year wait for the prestigious title.

It turned out to be one of the finest matches of his career as Lakshya fought for one hour and 37 minutes before sealing a 21-16, 18-21, 21-15 win over the 21-year-old Lai, who had claimed a surprise bronze at last year's World Championships in Paris.

It will be Lakshya’s second appearance in the All England final after finishing runner-up at the 2022 edition.

The 24-year-old from Almora will now chase history when he takes on world No 11 Lin Chun-yi of Chinese Taipei in the summit clash on Sunday.

Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) are the only Indians to have won the All England title. Apart from them, only Prakash Nath (1947) and Saina Nehwal (2015 runner-up) came close with runner-up finishes.

Lakshya displayed immense mental fortitude, resolute defence and precise strokeplay as he endured punishing rallies, clocking as many as 86 shots against the dogged Canadian.

The contest opened with a bruising 52-shot rally, setting the tone for a gruelling encounter as the two shuttlers probed each other’s defence with high tosses and sudden bursts of pace, staying neck and neck at 3-3 and 4-4.

Lai’s subtle deception mixed with high tosses often caught Lakshya off guard, but the Indian relied on his superior strokeplay to stay level at 8-8. Lakshya moved ahead 10-8 only for Lai to respond with a straight smash and a fine net shot to restore parity.

Lakshya managed to take a slender one-point lead at the break with a forehand drive before stepping up the attack with a series of accurate smashes and clever net play to surge ahead 18-16.

He soon grabbed four game points when Lai hit long and miscued another shot, before unleashing a barrage of aggressive strokes to clinch the opening game.

The second game began evenly, but Lakshya had to briefly leave the court at 3-4 for medical attention to treat blisters on his foot.

Once play resumed, Lai rode on immaculate defence to open up a 9-4 lead, highlighted by a draining 59-shot rally that ended with a fortunate net cord.

Lakshya slowly clawed back with a mix of drops, precise backline pushes and sharp net play, but Lai maintained a four-point cushion at the interval. The Indian fought back to draw level at 16-16 after producing a precise backline return and pouncing at the net.

However, Lai kept his composure, regaining the lead at 18-16 before earning two game points and forcing a decider when Lakshya sent a return wide.

In the deciding game, Lakshya moved to a 4-2 lead before Lai took a medical timeout after bruising his finger during a dive.

The Canadian levelled at 4-4 after resuming, but the momentum swung again when an exhausting 86-shot rally ended with the chair umpire awarding the point to Lakshya after ruling that the shuttle had brushed Lai.

Lakshya gradually built a cushion as Lai began to show signs of fatigue, moving ahead 9-6 before a thunderous smash and a sharp net exchange took him to an 11-7 lead at the interval.

The Indian received treatment for cramps on his thighs during the break and was later shown a yellow card for returning late to the court.

Despite struggling with severe cramps and visibly stretching his legs between points, Lakshya pushed ahead to 15-9 as Lai sprayed a return wide.

Errors crept in as the contest crossed the one hour 30 minute mark, allowing Lai to narrow the gap to 14-16 while forcing Lakshya to move constantly with high tosses.

But the Indian found another burst of energy, hammering a smash to move to 17-14 before pushing the lead to 18-15 when Lai hit wide.

A brutal smash then took Lakshya within two points of victory, and Lai’s net error handed the Indian five match points. He sealed the memorable win with yet another thunderous smash.