ಬರ್ಮಿಂಗ್ಹ್ಯಾಮ್:ಲಕ್ಷ್ಯ ಸೇನ್ ಆರ್ ಆಲ್ ಇಂಗ್ಲೆಂಡ್ ಬ್ಯಾಡ್ಮಿಂಟನ್ ಚಾಂಪಿಯನ್ಶಿಪ್ದ ಪುರುಷೆರ್ ನ ಸಿಂಗಲ್ಸ್ ಸೆಮಿಫೈನಲ್ ಪ್ರವೇಶ ಆಯೆರ್
Birmingham: India’s Lakshya Sen has entered the men’s singles semi-finals of the All England Badminton Championship on Friday, March 15.
The 22-year-old Lakshya Sen defeated former champion Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia 20-22, 21-16, 21-19 in a thrilling come-from-behind win in a match that spanned for an hour and 10 minutes at the United Arena in Birmingham.
CThe 22-year-old lost the first game 20-22 despite making a valiant comeback towards the end. He bounced back in the second game, with a commanding 21-16 win win and tied the match.
In the nail-biting decider, Lakshya held his nerves to seal a 21-19 win and book his place in the All England Open semi-final for the second time in his career. He will face Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in the semi-final on March 16 at 3:30 PM IST.
Lakshya, watched on by his mentor Prakash Padukone, put on a gutsy show against former champion Lee to keep India’s hopes of producing an All England Open champion for the first time in 23 years alive. Only Padukone (1981) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) have won All England crowns for India in the past.
Lakshya Sen is the only Indian left in the fray in the All England Open after a shocking second-round exit for World No. 1 doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu went down in straight games against top seed An Se Young in the women’s singles second round on Thursday.
niriksha