World Championship bronze medalist Lakshya Sen defeated former champion Li Ji Jia of Malaysia to reach the final of the All England Badminton Championship 2022. The last time Saina Nehwal made it to the finals for India in the women’s event was in 2015. Among the men’s players, Pullela Gopichand had reached the final in 2001.
With this, 20-year-old Lakshya Sen has made another record in his name. He has also become the youngest shuttler to reach the final for India. He became the fourth Indian male player to reach the final of the tournament after Prakash Nath (1947), Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001). Sen is the youngest shuttler on this list, before him all were able to do so in the middle or late 20s.
Lakshya Sen defeated Lee 21-13, 12-21, 21-19 in a semi-final match that lasted one hour and 16 minutes. Sen had made a brilliant defense in the first game to take an 11-7 lead. Lee then made a comeback but the Indian shuttler continued the long rallies to beat the Malaysian shuttler 21-13 in the first game. In the second game, Lee made a comeback and took the match to the decider.
In the final i.e. the third game, there was a tough competition but Sen maintained his composure and registered the victory. Lakshya Sen defeated Lee 21-19 to register a historic win. Earlier for India, Prakash Padukone had won the title in 1980 and Pullela Gopichand in 2001, while Prakash Nath lost the final in 1947 and Saina Nehwal in 2015.
After the historic win, Lakshya Sen said, “I was nervous but only thinking about the match. It was the All England Championship semi-final and many thoughts were coming in my mind but I kept my focus. I am glad that the match was won and will get to play tomorrow as well.
It is worth noting that Lakshya Sen, who has been in excellent form for the last six months, won a bronze medal at the World Championships in December. He then won the India Open Super 500 title in January and was runner-up at the German Open last week. Sen had defeated Lee in the India International Series even 6 years ago.