India’s star shuttler Lakshya Sen continued his strong run at the All England Open, defeating China’s Li Shi Feng in straight games to book a place in the semifinals in Birmingham.
Ranked world No. 12, Lakshya, who finished runner-up at the prestigious tournament in 2022, defeated the world No. 6 Chinese player 21-13, 21-16 in the men’s singles quarterfinal on Friday. The match, held at the Utilita Arena Birmingham, lasted around an hour.
Lakshya avenge last year’s defeat
The win was also a satisfying one for the Indian shuttler, as it helped him avenge last year’s defeat to Li at the same stage of the tournament.
Lakshya started the match confidently and controlled the first game from the beginning. He built a solid lead early on and, despite a brief fightback from Li midway through the game, raised his attacking intensity to close it out comfortably.
The second game turned out to be more closely fought, with both players matching each other point for point early on. Lakshya held a slight edge at the mid-game break and then stepped up in the closing stages to seal the match in straight games.
With this victory, Lakshya improved his head-to-head record against Li Shi Feng to eight wins from 15 meetings.
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Lakshya Sen's opponent for semifinal
Lakshya Sen, currently India’s highest-ranked men’s singles player, had also reached the semifinals of the tournament in 2024. This year, he is now the only Indian still in contention at the event.
Earlier in the competition, Lakshya had already made headlines by defeating world No. 1 and defending champion Shi Yuqi in the opening round.
He will next face Canada’s Victor Lai, the world No. 16, in the semifinals.
How India performed in All England Open
Other Indian players had earlier exited the tournament. The men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were knocked out in the first round, while Malvika Bansod and Unnati Hooda also bowed out early in the women’s singles competition.
Meanwhile, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu withdrew from the tournament after travel disruptions in the Middle East prevented her from reaching Birmingham in time. The mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila also had to retire from their match on Thursday.