Birmingham, March 5: India’s Lakshya Sen overcame the disappointment of missing out on four match points in the second game to dominate the deciding set against Hong Kong’s NG Ka Long Angus to reach the quarterfinals of the All England Open here on Thursday.
The 24-year-old Indian, who had upset top seed and defending champion Shi Yu Qi in the opening round, prevailed over NG 21-19, 21-23, 21-10 in an hour and 21 minutes. This was also Sen’s first win over NG in their four meetings, although their last encounter was at the 2023 Malaysia Masters.
Sen, the 2022 All England finalist, began aggressively against his Hong Kong opponent and maintained his lead throughout the first game. NG, however, drew level at 19-19 after winning three consecutive points, but Sen took the next two to win the game.
It appeared that Sen would easily win the second game when he opened up a 11-4 lead, but NG slowly but surely clawed his way back into the match. The experienced campaigner from Hong Kong saved three consecutive match points from 17-20 and then saved another at 20-21, but ultimately won the match in the deciding set.
“It was a very solid game in both sets. Credit to him (NG) for making a strong comeback in the second set, and I just didn't play freely towards the end of the second set, giving him too many easy opportunities. I was prepared in the third to go all out, and I’m happy with how I played in the third set,” Sen said.
However, Sen seemed determined not to miss another opportunity, as he took control of the game early with powerful cross-court smashes. Although NG saved one match point at 20-9, the gap was too large for him to recover.
“I think tactically, I was playing the right game in both sets, and it was just the last few points where I deviated from the plan, giving away too many easy errors. However, it was important to switch off, forget the second and first sets, and play the third set with the same plan which was working,” he added.
Sen, the only Indian left in the singles event, will now face the winner of the match between sixth seed Li Shi Feng of China and Nhat Nguyen of Ireland.
