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All England Open 2022: Victor Axelsen beats Lakshya Sen to clinch title

Lakshya Sen's dream run came to an end as World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen romped home to an easy win to clinch the All England Open men's singles title in Birmingham on Sunday (March 20).

Lakshy Sen lost to Victor Axelsen in the final on Sunday

London, March 20: Lakshya Sen's dream run came to an end as World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen romped home to an easy win to clinch the All England Open men's singles title in Birmingham on Sunday (March 20).

The star young Indian shuttler, who was playing in his second BWF Tour Final within a week, went down to his experienced opponent in straight sets. Top seed Axelsen outplayed Sen 21-10, 21-15 to lay his hands on the prestigious crown. This is Axelsen's second All England crown.

The Danish top-seeded Axelsen dominated the proceedings from the very onset, as the young shuttler found it tough to get his footing in the all-important final. Though the young Indian shuttler gave it is all, Axelsen brought his best game forward on the night as he started the game with an early three-point lead.

After conceding six straight points, Sen registered his first point of the match. Though the young unseeded shuttler did not give up, the Danish shuttler ruled the scored sheet, winning a longest rally of 61 shots, with the scoreline reading 11-2. The young Indian player fought back slowly, but Axelsen comfortable wrapped up the first game 21-10.

The second game played out the same way, though Sen put up a fight. But in the end it was too little too late, as he had conceded too many points in the early stages. The young Indian shuttler lost the second game 21-15 as Axelsen was crowned champion.

With Sunday's win, Axelsen, who has met Sen on six occasions now, has won five times, with the young Indian shuttler overcoming the World No. 1 just once in the most recent meeting in Germany last week.

Last week, the Indian shuttler had made a stunning comeback over reigning Olympic Gold medallist Axelsen to register his first win over the higher ranked opponent, to win the match 21-13, 12-21, 22-20. Sen failed to cross the final hurdle as he went to to Thailand's Kunvlat Vitidsarn in the German Open final.

Sen has been quickly rising through the ranks and marking his authority on the world badminton circuit. The 20-year-old Indian shuttler has not only make the final in the last few Tour events, but also won his first Super 500 title at the India Open in January after clinching a bronze medal finish in the World Tour Finals.

Despite losing out on the crown on Sunday, the young shuttler's outing at the All England was a historic one. Earlier, in the semifinal, Lakshya Sen defeated defending champion and sixth seed Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia 21-13, 12-21, 21-19.

Lakshya is the fourth Indian male badminton player to reach the All England final after Prakash Nath (1947, runner-up) Prakash Padukone in 1980 (winner) and 1981 (runner-up) and Pullela Gopichand in 2001 (winner). Saina Nehwal had reached the All England final in 2015.

Story first published: Sunday, March 20, 2022, 23:03 [IST]
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