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World No. 11 Lakshya Sen will be keen to continue his brilliant run at the All England Open when he takes on the 27th-ranked Lu Guang Zu in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Sen has truly established himself as a title contender in the past few months. He wrapped up 2021 with a prestigious bronze on his World Championships debut.
The 20-year-old has managed to carry that momentum into the new season. Having triumphed at the India Open, the Prakash Padukone protege finished as the runner-up at the German Open last week, upsetting World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen along the way.
Oozing confidence, the youngster has now beaten World No. 3 Anders Antonsen en route to the quarterfinals of the All England Open this week.
Standing between Sen and his maiden semifinal in Birmingham is Lu Guang Zu. The 25-year-old has a couple of BWF World Tour titles under his belt.
This year, the Chinese has played just the German Open prior to arriving at the world's oldest badminton tournament. His performance at the BWF Super 300 event last week left a lot to be desired. Zu managed just a solitary win before falling to Kidambi Srikanth in three tight games.
At the All England Open, Zu was stretched to the decider by his 35th-ranked compatriot Zhao Jun Peng in the opener. The second round proved to be much easier for Zu, as he breezed past NG Ka Long Angus 21-10, 21-11.
He will now hope to put up a stiff resistance against Sen but given the form that the Indian has been in, he should be the favorite to come through.
All England Open 2022: Lakshya Sen vs Lu Guang Zu
match details
Fixture: Lakshya Sen vs Lu Guang Zu
Head-to-head: Lakshya Sen and Lu Guang Zu have never squared off on the tour before, so their head-to-head is currently tied at 0-0.
Date: March 18, 2022
Time: Approx 2 pm local time/ 6.30 pm IST
Tournament: Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships 2022
Round: Quarterfinals
Venue: Utilita Arena Birmingham, United Kingdom
Category: BWF World Tour Super 1000
All England Open 2022: TV schedule
Badminton fans can catch the live action on VH1 and MTV channels in India.
All England Open 2022: Live streaming details
The All England Open will be livestreamed on Voot Select and Jio TV in India.
