Lakshya Sen storms into All England Open semi-final after beating former champion Lee Lee Zii

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India’s Lakshya Sen defeated Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia 2-1 to qualify for the semi-final of the All England Open Badminton Championships on Friday, March 15, 2024.

The World Championships medalist defeated the 10th-ranked Malaysian 20-22, 21-16, 21-19 in a thrilling come-from-behind win in a match that spanned for an hour and 10 minutes at the United Arena in Birmingham.

The 22-year-old lost the first game 20-22 despite making a valiant comeback towards the end. He bounced back in the second game, with a commanding 21-16 win win and tied the match.

In the nail-biting decider, Lakshya held his nerves to seal a 21-19 win and book his place in the All England Open semi-final for the second time in his career. He will face Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in the semi-final on March 16 at 3:30 PM IST.

Lakshya, watched on by his mentor Prakash Padukone, put on a gutsy show against former champion Lee to keep India's hopes of producing an All England Open champion for the first time in 23 years alive. Only Padukone (1981) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) have won All England crowns for India in the past.

Lakshya Sen is the only Indian left in the fray in the All England Open after a shocking second-round exit for World No. 1 doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu went down in straight games against top seed An Se Young in the women's singles second round on Thursday.