Birmingham, March 7 (IANS) Lakshya Sen became only the second Indian player to reach the men’s singles final of the All-England Open badminton championship twice when he overcame Canada’s Victor Lai in a gruelling semifinal in Birmingham on Saturday.

The 24-year-old, who had also reached the summit clash in 2022, not only overcame a spirited Lai but also blisters in his right toe to win 21-16, 18-21, 21-15 in an hour and 37 minutes.

Sen’s mentor, Prakash Padukone, had reached the All-England final in 1980 and 1981 and won the title in his first appearance in the summit clash.

The semifinal clash on Saturday between Sen and Lai tested the physical endurance of both players as they engaged in multiple rallies that went beyond 50 strokes.

It was Sen’s ability to find an extra gear that helped the Indian take the opening game, which stayed neck-and-neck till 17-16. Sen then took four straight points to draw first blood. But Lai, the first Canadian player to win a BWF World Championships medal, bounced back in the second game and took an 11-7 lead at the mid-game interval.

Sen, who was by then struggling with blisters, fought back to draw level at 16-16, only for Lai to once again pull away and take the match in the decider. The 24-year-old’s experience meant that he at times took calculated risks to take a sizeable 15-9 lead. However, Lai is known for fighting till the end, and he managed to close the gap at 17-15 before Sen once again won four straight points to reach the final.

In the summit clash, he will face India Open champion Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei after the left-hander packed off second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 21-14, 18-21, 21-16 in an hour and 18 minutes.

Sen will be hoping to become the third Indian player to win the men’s singles title, joining Padukone and Pullela Gopichand (2001) as winners of the most famous and prestigious All-England Open tournament.

Earlier, India’s top-ranked men’s singles player, Sen, continued his dream run at the All England Open as he packed off sixth seed and former champion Li Shi Feng in straight games to reach the semifinals on Friday night. Sen defeated Li 21-13, 21-16 in exactly an hour to set up a last-four clash against Canada’s Victor Lai, who got the better of Japan’s Koki Watanabe 18-21, 21-17, 21-15 in the other quarterfinals.

–IANS

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