Lakshya Sen’s spirited run on the All England Open ended simply wanting historical past on Sunday (March 8, 2026) because the Indian shuttler completed runner-up after shedding the boys’s singles ultimate to Taiwan’s Lin Chun-Yi in Birmingham.
The defeat meant India’s anticipate an All England males’s singles champion continued, with solely two Indians — Prakash Padukone in 1980 and P. Gopi Chand in 2001 — having beforehand lifted the celebrated title.
For Lakshya, it was a second heartbreak on the sport’s oldest event. Four years after ending runner-up in 2022 following a loss to then World No.1 Viktor Axelsen, the 24-year-old as soon as once more got here agonisingly near the crown after producing probably the most spectacular runs of his profession by way of the draw.
The 24-year-old entered the ultimate using the momentum of every week that had already featured a shocking upset of World No.1 Shi Yuqi, a gritty comeback in opposition to Ng Ka Long Angus, a tactically assured win over Li Shifeng and a marathon semifinal overcome Canada’s Victor Lai.
Dethroning the king
The week started with a press release victory.
Four years in the past on the All England ultimate, Lakshya was stopped by the World No.1 Viktor Axelsen. In 2026, he started his marketing campaign in opposition to one other World No. 1 and defending champion Shi Yuqi.
Lakshya produced one of many greatest upsets of the opening spherical. He pulled off an exhilarating 23-21, 19-21, 21-17 victory to knock out the highest seed within the opening spherical in a gripping contest that lasted 78 minutes. It was his earliest exit from a event for the reason that Thailand Open in 2023.
The World No. 12 relied closely on explosive forearm-driven smashes and misleading wristwork, repeatedly unsettling the world champion and forcing him onto the again foot.
What stood out most was how Lakshya turned Yuqi’s personal power in opposition to him. Widely thought to be one of many circuit’s most misleading gamers, the Chinese shuttler discovered himself repeatedly wrong-footed as Sen used refined wrist disguises and late adjustments of course to control rallies. The Indian additionally managed the entrance court docket well, utilizing delicate internet play to attract lifts earlier than unleashing steep, exhausting smashes that steadily piled stress on the highest seed.
After the defeat, Yuqi admitted he was not at his finest bodily, revealing he had entered the event with restricted preparation.
The second spherical offered one other problem: Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long Angus.
Angus had traditionally troubled Lakshya, getting into the competition with a 3-0 head-to-head benefit over the Indian. The Hong Kong shuttler signalled his intent proper from the beginning, partaking Sen in a primary rally that stretched past 40 pictures.
Lakshya made the brighter begin, pocketing the opening recreation 21-19 and carrying that momentum into the second. But as coach Vimal Kumar had mentioned, “Angus is not easy at all,” the veteran leaned on his misleading overheads and rally-building, drawing Sen into prolonged exchanges earlier than capitalising on the Indian’s impatience to reel off 5 consecutive factors and swing the sport again in his favour.
“He made a solid comeback on the second. And I just didn’t play freely towards the end of the second set. And just gave too many easy shots for him to kill. But I was prepared in the third set, to go all out…” Lakshya informed the BWF.
And that response was emphatic. What may have became a nervy battle lasted barely longer than crucial. Lakshya tightened his defence, repeatedly pushing Angus deep into the backhand nook and dictating the rallies from the mid-court. He sealed the match 21-10 within the decider, guaranteeing that the transient wobble within the second recreation value him nothing various further minutes on court docket.
Tactical precision
The quarterfinal in opposition to China’s Li Shifeng required a unique type of resolution. Unlike Angus, who relied on grit and lengthy rallies, Shifeng is constructed to dominate the forecourt and dictate play from the online with explosive assaults. Rather than confronting him in that house, Lakshya selected to stretch the court docket.
He repeatedly pushed the shuttle deep into Shifeng’s forehand rear nook, an space that disrupted the Chinese participant’s most popular front-court positioning and compelled him to chase from awkward angles.
Lakshya’s plan within the opening recreation was clear: maintain the shuttle travelling to Shifeng’s deep forehand nook. A mixture of pushes, drops, lifts and smashes from that flank helped him take the sport 21-13.
Shifeng briefly threatened to claw his approach again within the second with highly effective smashes and improved management on the internet, however Lakshya refused to hurry the rallies. By staying affected person and maintaining the shuttle in play, he steadily compelled the Chinese participant into errors, a number of of them wild makes an attempt to drive attacking winners from tough positions. The Indian then pulled away late to shut out the sport 21-16 and wrap up the match in straight units.
The semifinal in opposition to Canada’s Victor Lai became a draining duel that examined Lakshya’s resilience as a lot as his badminton.
Lai isn’t identified for breathtaking winners, however for one thing extra exhausting, his potential to return nearly every thing. Rally after rally, the Canadian stored the shuttle alive, forcing Lakshya to work relentlessly for factors. The exchanges grew longer and longer, turning the competition right into a gruelling endurance battle.
At one stage within the deciding recreation, the pair produced a unprecedented 86-shot rally, a second that summed up the bodily calls for of the match. By the time the competition stretched previous the hour mark and ultimately reached 97 minutes, each gamers have been visibly working on fumes.
Lakshya’s wrestle grew to become evident on the ultimate change of ends within the decider. Dealing with a blister on his foot and cramps creeping into his legs, he lay flat close to his bench as his help workers massaged his tightening muscle tissues. The chair umpire even informed him that he needed to both proceed enjoying or retire beneath the principles.
But Lakshya pushed on.
“Starting the third set, I could feel cramps in my legs and I didn’t know if I could go all the way. I was just trying to fight every point,” Lakshya mentioned later.
Realising that extended rallies would solely worsen the cramps, Lakshya altered his strategy within the closing phases. Instead of partaking in countless exchanges with Lai’s cussed defence, he started attacking earlier in rallies, trying to end factors shortly.
Fighting by way of exhaustion and ache, Lakshya closed out the match 21-16, 18-21, 21-15; even Lai admitted that the Indian was “mentally stronger.” He secured his place within the All England ultimate for the second time in his profession.
No respite
Waiting on the opposite aspect was Taiwan’s Lin Chun-Yi, a left-hander identified for his highly effective attacking recreation and sharp angles.
Lin managed to edge the opening recreation, whereas Lakshya, nonetheless carrying the fatigue from the marathon semifinal a day earlier, even required therapy for his shoulder and leg through the interval.
The Indian finalist managed to search out his rhythm within the second recreation.
His cross smashes to the Lin’s backhand and steep returns to stretch the Taiwanese diagonally throughout the court docket and with down the road returns he surged right into a 5 level lead halfway. Lin regarded visibly puzzled and walked nervously up and down the court docket, conceding three or 4 straightforward factors.
The contest reached fever pitch at 14-14 when the 2 traded relentless attacking strokes and determined defensive pickups within the longest rally of the match, a wide ranging change of over 40 pictures that had each gamers firing what felt like bullets throughout the online.
Sen continued to focus on Lin’s backhand with cross smashes every time he wanted to regain management, however the closing phases became a nerve-racking shootout. With the rating locked at 20-20 and each gamers attacking at full velocity, Lin gained the benefit and stood one level away from the title earlier than Lakshya’s return drifted huge.
“Being able to play this tournament and winning it is a dream come true,” Lin mentioned post-match. He grew to become the primary participant from Taiwan to win the All England males’s singles title.
After the match, Lakshya admitted he had not been in superb bodily situation.
“But when I was playing on court, I was not thinking about anything but to give my best. Yesterday I was struggling a bit with cramps, but I had some time to recover. I couldn’t recover 100%. Towards the end of the week, all the players were tired with four or five matches. It could have been better, but this is what I had. I gave everything,” he mentioned.
Reflecting on the ultimate itself, Lakshya added: “The first set… I think he was a better player, but in the second game I could have finished off better. But I’m happy with the way I played throughout the week. I’m feeling emotional right now, thinking about the match. But overall, lots of positive things.”
Despite the loss within the ultimate, Lakshya’s run in Birmingham reaffirmed his standing among the many world’s elite. Ranked World No. 12 coming into the event, the Indian had arrived with out the tag of a favorite, however what adopted was probably the most spectacular campaigns of his profession. The defeat of world No.1 Shi Yuqi and a semifinal efficiency that examined each ounce of his endurance. For now, the anticipate an Indian males’s singles champion on the All England event continues. But if this event proved something, it’s that Lakshya Sen stays one of many gamers most able to ending that wait.
And maybe quickly.
