Birmingham, March 7 Lakshya Sen, battling painful blisters and severe cramps, defeated Canada's Victor Lai to reach the final of the All England Open on Saturday, bringing India one win closer to its 25-year wait for the prestigious title.
The match was one of his finest, with Lakshya playing for over an hour and 37 minutes to win 21-16, 18-21, 21-15 against the 21-year-old Lai, who had won a surprise bronze at the World Championships in Paris last year.
This was Lakshya's second appearance in the All England final, after finishing as the runner-up in 2022.
The 24-year-old from Almora will now compete against world No. 11 Lin Chun-yi of Chinese Taipei in the summit clash on Sunday.
Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) are the only Indians to have won the All England title.
Besides them, Prakash Nath (1947) and Saina Nehwal (runner-up in 2015) have come close with runner-up finishes.
Lakshya displayed immense mental fortitude, resolute defense, and precise strokeplay, enduring a punishing rally of 86 shots against the determined Canadian.
"I was just focusing on one point at a time and I felt a bit of cramping in my legs during the third set, and I wasn't sure if I could keep going," Lakshya said after the match.
"I was just trying to fight for every point and didn't think too much ahead," he added.
The match began with a grueling 52-shot rally, setting the tone for a tough encounter as the two shuttlers probed each other's defense with high tosses and sudden bursts of pace, remaining 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 maintain parity at 8-8.
Lakshya finally gained a one-point lead at 10-8, but Lai responded with a powerful smash and a fine net shot to level the score.
Lakshya managed to take a one-point lead at the break with a forehand drive before increasing the attack with accurate smashes and clever net play to lead 18-16.
He soon secured four game points when Lai hit long and miscued a shot, before unleashing a barrage of aggressive strokes to win the first game.
The second game began evenly, but Lakshya had to briefly leave the court at 3-4 for medical attention due to blisters on his foot.
Once play resumed, Lai capitalized on immaculate defense to gain a 9-4 lead, highlighted by a draining 59-shot rally that ended with a fortunate net cord.
Lakshya slowly recovered with drops, precise backline pushes, and sharp net play, but Lai maintained a four-point cushion at the interval. The Indian fought back to level at 16-16 after a precise backline return and pouncing at the net.
However, Lai maintained 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 took a 4-2 lead before Lai took a medical timeout after bruising his finger during a dive.
The Canadian leveled 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 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," Lakshya said.
"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," he added.
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.
"Yeah, I mean really looking forward to tomorrow now. One day to recover and come back stronger," he added.
