India’s Lakshya Sen (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Lakshya Sen delivered a gritty performance to book his place in the final of the All England Open Badminton Championships, becoming only the second Indian shuttler to reach the title clash twice after defeating Canada’s Victor Lai in a demanding semifinal on Saturday. The 24 year old, who had previously reached the final in 2022, battled both a determined opponent and painful blisters on his right toe to seal a 21-16, 18-21, 21-15 victory in a contest that lasted one hour and 37 minutes. Sen’s achievement puts him in rare company alongside his mentor Prakash Padukone. The legendary Indian had reached the final in 1980 and 1981, famously winning the title in his first appearance in the championship match. Saturday’s semifinal turned into a test of stamina and resilience for both players. Sen and Lai were involved in several exhausting rallies, some stretching beyond 50 shots, as neither competitor was willing to give ground. The opening game remained closely contested until the score stood at 17-16 in Sen’s favour. The Indian then shifted gears, reeling off four consecutive points to take the first game. Lai responded strongly in the second game. The Canadian, who holds the distinction of being the first player from Canada to win a medal at the BWF World Championships, moved ahead 11-7 at the mid game interval and maintained his advantage despite Sen drawing level at 16-16 while dealing with blisters. Lai eventually forced the match into a deciding game. In the final game, Sen’s experience began to show. Mixing patience with calculated attacking shots, he built a healthy 15-9 lead. Lai continued to fight back and reduced the deficit to 17-15, but Sen finished strongly, claiming four points in a row to seal his place in the final. In the championship match, Sen will face Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei. The left handed shuttler, who recently won the India Open, advanced to the final after defeating Thailand’s second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-14, 18-21, 21-16 in a semifinal that lasted one hour and 18 minutes.

PV Sindhu pulled out of the All England Championships on Monday, as the shuttler and her Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama are stuck in Dubai due to the situation in West Asia.Confirming the development, Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary Sanjay Mishra told TOI that Sindhu will compete in next week’s Swiss Open Super-300 tournament. “Sindhu is not playing All England due to the situation in Dubai. She will compete in Swiss Open next week,” Mishra told TOI.

As of Monday afternoon, a limited number of flights resumed operations from Abu Dhabi, but the Dubai airport is still shut.The rest of the Indian squad is in Birmingham for the Super-1000 tournament beginning Tuesday.Meanwhile, Indian shuttlers will attempt to break the 25-year-old jinx at this prestigious championship. Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) were the only Indians to win the All England Championships.Saina Nehwal (2015), Lakshya Sen (2022) reached the finals, while the women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand reached the last four stage in 2022 and 2023.Lakshya may find it difficult this year as he has drawn top seed Shi Yuqi of China in the first round. Fast-rising men’s singles shuttler Ayush Shetty will begin against Alwi Farhan of Indonesia and may face Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei next.The top Indian doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty face the Malaysian duo of Aaron Tai and Kang Khai Kang Xing in the first round. A victory here may pitch them against Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi of China in the second round.Treesa and Gayatri have done well in this tournament, but they have a tough first round against Sayaka Hirota and Ayako Sakuramoto. If they beat the Japanese, they may be up against seventh-seeded Chinese duo of Li Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min.