India’s rising badminton star Lakshya Sen booked his place in the semifinals of the ongoing All England Open Badminton Championships on Friday, March 15. Sen registered another impressive win in the tournament as he defeated Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia 20-22, 21-16, 21-19 in the quarterfinals.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games champion is the only Indian remaining in the tournament. He will next face Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in the men’s singles semifinal on Saturday, March 16.
Christie, a former Asian Games champion himself, got somewhat of a free pass into the semifinals. In his quarterfinal match, against China’s Shi Yu Qi, the Indonesian shuttler won the first game 21-12. However, there was no more action as Shi had to retire with an injury.
This means that while Lakshya might be a little jaded after his one-hour-11-minute-long match on Friday, Christie would be relatively fresh. However, the player from Uttarakhand is known for his ability to overcome major challenges. Christie will have a tough contest on his hands.
Lakshya Sen overcomes former All England Open champion
Lee Zii Jia won the All England Open in 2021 and also claimed the title of Asian champion in 2022. However, the 25-year-old is currently ranked 10th in the world. He was eliminated in the first round of last week's French Open.
Sen, on the other hand, managed to find his form in Paris, as he reached the semifinals before losing to world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
However, Jia was no pushover as he had shown signs of regaining his old touch in earlier rounds. The match started with a first game where extra points were needed to settle the matter.
Lakshya was ahead at the mid-game interval but his Malaysian opponent caught up with him at 12-12. Racing ahead, Jia had three game points but he allowed the Indian shuttler to draw level and force extra points. However, the former Asian champion kept his composure and won the game.
In the second game, Jia was leading at 16-14, but Lakshya reeled off seven consecutive points to draw level in the match.
The third and deciding game also had some drama. At 19-15, the 22-year-old was on the cusp of winning the contest. However, Jia drew level and set up a nail-biting finish. But the Indian shuttler stayed calm and with two successive points, sealed the match.
If Lakshya Sen manages to win his semifinal, he will face the winner of the semifinal between Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and France's Christo Popov.
No Indian has won the All England title since Pullela Gopichand in 2001. Lakshya is two steps away from ending India's long wait.
