All England 2026: Lakshya Sen reaches second All England Open Final after gritty win over Victor Lai

India’s Lakshya Sen scripted another impressive run at the All England Open Badminton Championships, becoming only the second Indian to reach the men’s singles final twice after defeating Canada’s Victor Lai in a hard-fought semifinal in Birmingham on Saturday.

The 24-year-old, who had also reached the summit clash in 2022, overcame Lai despite battling blisters on his right toe to register a 21-16, 18-21, 21-15 victory in a gruelling match that lasted one hour and 37 minutes.

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Legendary Indian shuttler Prakash Padukone, who is also Sen’s mentor, was the first Indian to reach the All England final in 1980 and 1981. Padukone also went on to win the prestigious title in 1980.

Saturday’s semifinal tested the physical endurance of both players, with several rallies stretching beyond 50 shots. Sen managed to find an extra gear in the opening game, staying neck and neck with Lai until 17-16 before claiming four consecutive points to seal the first set.

Lai responded strongly in the second game, taking control early and building an 11-7 lead at the mid-game interval. Sen tried to mount a comeback, fighting through pain to level the score at 16-16, but Lai – the first Canadian player to win a medal at the BWF World Championships – regained control to force a decider.

In the third game, Sen raced to a comfortable lead, though Lai fought back to narrow the gap to 17-15. However, Sen held his nerve and clinched the match with four straight points to book his place in the final.

In the title clash, Sen will face Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei, who defeated Thailand’s second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-14, 18-21, 21-16 in the other semifinal.

Sen will now hope to become the third Indian to win the men’s singles title at the historic tournament, joining Padukone and Pullela Gopichand, who won the title in 2001.

Earlier, India’s top-ranked men’s singles player continued his dream run in the tournament by defeating sixth seed and former champion Li Shi Feng in straight games to reach the semifinals. Sen beat Li 21-13, 21-16 in exactly an hour on Friday night.

The victory set up the semifinal clash against Lai, who had earlier defeated Japan’s Koki Watanabe 18-21, 21-17, 21-15 in the quarterfinals.