Birmingham. World Championship bronze medalist Lakshya Sen defeated defending champion Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia to enter the All England Badminton Championship Finals. Sen Prakash Nath, 20, became the fourth Indian player after Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand to reach the final of the tournament. He defeated Lee 21.13, 12.21, 21.19 in a match that lasted one hour and 16 minutes.
Padukone won the title in 1980 and Gopichand in 2001 while Nath lost the final in 1947 and Saina Nehwal in 2015 in the women’s section. Sen, who has been in fine form for the past six months, won a bronze medal at the World Championships in December. He then won the India Open Super 500 title in January and was runner-up at the German Open last week.
India’s Lakshya Sen beats defending champion Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia 21-13 12-21 21-19 to enter the men’s singles final of All England Badminton Championship 2022
(file photo) pic.twitter.com/efJIQce2tC
— ANI (@ANI) March 19, 2022
Sen had defeated Lee in the India International Series six years ago. He created history by displaying superb technique and mental fortitude. Both the players know each other’s game very well as they were part of the exchange program at Prakash Padukone Academy in Bangalore in 2016.
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Sen made an excellent defense in the first game to take the lead by 11.7. Lee took the lead to 10.12 but Sen again took the lead with long rails. Lee’s shuttle then went into the net and a return was out. Sen meanwhile scored game points in the year and won the first game.
In the second game, Lee made a comeback and took the match to the decider. The decider game was closely contested but Sen maintained his composure and registered the victory. (agency)