Lakshya Sen produced yet another gritty performance to move into the men’s singles quarterfinals at the All England Open Badminton Championships on Thursday.
Lakshya Sen, who is ranked 12th in the men’s singles, defeated world No. 29 Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong China 21-19, 21-23, 21-10 at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
The opening game began with both players locked in a tight contest during the early exchanges before Lakshya Sen pulled away to secure a three-point lead at the interval.
Despite a late surge from two-time Olympian Angus Ng Ka Long, the Indian player went on to consolidate his advantage and edged the opener.
With momentum on his side, Lakshya Sen dominated the early exchanges in the second, racing to an 11-4 lead before Angus Ng Ka Long staged a valiant comeback and saved four match points to force a decider.
Similar to the second game, Lakshya Sen held an 11-5 lead at the interval in the decider. This time, however, the Indian shuttler did not allow Angus Ng Ka Long a way back as he maintained control for his first win against Angus Ng Ka Long in three matches.
In the first round on Wednesday, Lakshya Sen overcame world champion and top-ranked player Shi Yuqi of the People’s Republic of China in three games.
Lakshya to meet Li Shi Feng or Nhat Nguyen
He will take on the winner of the match between reigning Asian Games champion Li Shi Feng of China and Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Lakshya Sen has previously reached the semifinals at the All England Open in 2024 and the final in 2022.
He remains one of only two Indian entries still in contention at the All England Open, alongside Olympian Tanisha Crasto and her mixed doubles partner Dhruv Kapila, who will be in action later in the day.
India’s top men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, exited the BWF Super 1000 tournament after losing in the first round on Wednesday.
Both Malvika Bansod and Unnati Hooda also lost their respective first-round matches on the opening day of the tournament, bringing an end to India’s women’s singles campaign.
Two-time Olympian PV Sindhu had earlier withdrawn from the tournament after she was unable to make it to Birmingham in time. The Indian ace was stuck in transit in Dubai due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East.
