Birmingham: Battling painful blisters on his foot and severe cramps, a gritty Lakshya Sen overcame Canada’s Victor Lai to storm into the final of the All England Open here on Saturday, moving within one win of ending India’s 25-year wait for the prestigious title.
It turned out to be one of the finest matches of his career as Lakshya fought for one hour and 37 minutes before sealing a 21-16, 18-21, 21-15 win over the 21-year-old Lai, who had claimed a surprise bronze at last year’s World Championships in Paris.
It will be Lakshya’s second appearance in the All England final after finishing runner-up at the 2022 edition.
The 24-year old from Almora will now chase history when he takes on world No. 11 Lin Chun-yi of Chinese Taipei in the summit clash on Sunday (March 8, 2026).
Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) are the only Indians to have won the All England title.
Apart from them, only Prakash Nath (1947) and Saina Nehwal (2015 runner up) came close with runner-up finishes.
Lakshya displayed immense mental fortitude, resolute defence, and precise strokeplay as he endured punishing rallies, clocking as many as 86 shots, against the dogged Canadian.
“I was just taking one point at a time and starting up the third set, I could feel a bit of cramping in the legs, and I didn’t know if I can go all the way,” Lakshya said after the match.
“I was just trying to fight every point, fight just one more point, and didn’t think too much ahead,” he added.
The contest opened with a bruising 52-shot rally, setting the tone for a gruelling encounter as the two shuttlers probed each other’s defence with high tosses and sudden bursts of pace, staying neck and neck at 3-3 and 4-4.
Lai’s subtle deception mixed with high tosses often caught Lakshya off guard, but the Indian relied on his superior strokeplay to stay level at 8-8.
Lakshya moved ahead 10-8 only for Lai to respond with a straight smash and a fine net shot to restore parity.
Lakshya managed to take a slender one point lead at the break with a forehand drive before stepping up the attack with a series of accurate smashes and clever net play to surge ahead 18-16.
He soon grabbed four game points when Lai hit long and miscued another shot, before unleashing a barrage of aggressive strokes to clinch the opening game.
The second game began evenly but Lakshya had to briefly leave the court at 3-4 for medical attention to treat blisters on his foot.
Once play resumed, Lai rode on immaculate defence to open up a 9-4 lead, highlighted by a draining 59 shot rally that ended with a fortunate net cord.
Lakshya slowly clawed back with a mix of drops, precise backline pushes and sharp net play, but Lai maintained a four point cushion at the interval. The Indian fought back to draw level at 16-16 after producing a precise backline return and pouncing at the net.
However, Lai kept his composure, regaining the lead at 18-16 before earning two game points and forcing a decider when Lakshya sent a return wide.
In the deciding game, Lakshya moved to a 4-2 lead before Lai took a medical timeout after bruising his finger during a dive.
The Canadian levelled at 4-4 after resuming, but the momentum swung again when an exhausting 86-shot rally ended with the chair umpire awarding the point to Lakshya after ruling that the shuttle had brushed Lai.
Lakshya gradually built a cushion as Lai began to show signs of fatigue, moving ahead 9-6 before a thunderous smash and a sharp net exchange took him to an 11-7 lead at the interval.
The Indian received treatment for cramps on his thighs during the break and was later shown a yellow card for returning late to the court.
Despite struggling with severe cramps and visibly stretching his legs between points, Lakshya pushed ahead to 15-9 as Lai sprayed a return wide. “I think that was the only plan (to use smashes) in the first few shots to finish off the rally and not let the rallies go very long because he was playing very steady. “Both of us were really tired to push the pace but I think in the end it was important that I increased the pace a little bit,” the Indian said.
Errors crept in as the contest crossed the one hour 30 minute mark, allowing Lai to narrow the gap to 14-16 while forcing Lakshya to move constantly with high tosses.
But the Indian found another burst of energy, hammering a smash to move to 17-14 before pushing the lead to 18-15 when Lai hit wide.
A brutal smash then took Lakshya within two points of victory, and Lai’s net error handed the Indian five match points. He sealed the memorable win with yet another thunderous smash.
Now, Lakshya has set his eyes on the final on Sunday (March 8, 2026).
“Yeah, I mean really looking forward to tomorrow now. One day to recover and come back stronger,” he added.
