All England Open Badminton Championships 2026 LIVE Score: After a stunning win against world No 1 Shi Yu Qi Lakshya Sen backed it up by prevailing against Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long Angus in the round of 16 of the All England Open in Birmingham on Thursday. After having won a tight opening game, Lakshya was cruising in the second game and had three match points to close it out in straight games at 20-17 but Ng Ka Long fought back to force a decider after saving four match points. But in the third game, Lakshya regained control and saw off the Hong Kong veteran 21-19, 21-23, 21-10 in 81 minutes. This was Lakshya’s first win in four attempts against Ng Ka Long.
“(Angus) made a solid comeback on the second. And I just didn’t play freely towards the end of the second set. And just gave too many easy shots for him to kill. But I was prepared in the third set, to go all out. Happy with how I played third,” he told the BWF.
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Later, the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto bowed out against Hong Kong seventh seeds Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet in the round of 16. Kapila and Crasto were involved in a fine tussle, but had to retire from the match at 19-21 8-9 after the former complained of back issues.
Lakshya Sen is now the last standing Indian in contention at All England, the year’s second Super 1000 event. On Friday, he will take on a familiar foe in Li Shi Feng, the Chinese star who has been competing with Lakshya since their junior days. In 14 past meetings, Lakshya and Shi Feng are tied 7-7. Read more about Lakshya’s win against Ng Ka Long Angus here.
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Lakshya Sen rides underdog tag and catapult smash to upset World No. 1 Shi Yuqi at All England
Belting smashes that generated power from his forearm and catapult-wrist, Lakshya Sen caused a furore at the All England, defeating China’s World No. 1, Shi Yuqi, 23-21, 19-21, 21-17 in Birmingham on Tuesday. Beating Yuqi, the reigning world title holder and defending champion, Sen emulated his former coach Prakash Padukone, who had taken out the incumbent Liem Swi King of Indonesia in 1978. But it was in how Sen flummoxed the Chinese master of deception, Yuqi, with his own elastic wrists, generating disguises both ways, that his biggest win (yet) will be remembered. READ MORE
