Lakshya Sen vs Victor Lai Live Score: Lakshya Sen takes on Victor Lai in the semifinal of All England. (AP)
Lakshya Sen vs Victor Lai Live Score, All England Open Badminton Semi Final 2026 LIVE Score Updates: Lakshya Sen came through an epic semifinal clash against Canada’s Victor Lai to reach the All England Open Badminton Championships men’s singles final with a hard-fought win. The 12th ranked Indian beat world number 16 Lai 21-16 18-21 21-15 in the match that lasted one hour and 37 minutes. This will be Lakshya’s second final appearance in the prestigious tournament, having finished runner-up in 2022. Lakshya, who would have to recover first the marathon clash where he was cramping badly in the third game, will face Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-Yi in the final on Sunday. Chun-Yi beat world number two Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the other semifinal on Saturday.
Lakshya has been on a roll in this tournament, having defeated world No. 1 and defending champion Shi Yuqi in the opening round and then followed up with another win against Hong Kong’s NG Ka Long Angus in the Round of 16. On Friday, he blazed past a familiar rival in Li Shifeng with a stellar all-round performance to continue his amazing form in the event.
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“Starting of the third set, I could feel a bit of cramps in the legs and I didn’t know if I could go all the way,” Lakshya told BWF. “I was just trying to fight every point… (telling myself) just one more point, and didn’t think too much ahead.” Did he think the strategy to go aggressive with the smashes, leaping high despite the cramp, could have backfired on him? He let out a chuckle. “I think that was the only plan: to finish off the rally in the first few shots and not let the rallies go very long because he was playing very steadily. Both of us were really tired to push the pace, but I think in the end it was important that I increased the pace a little bit.” Read more about the match here.
RECAP OF LAKSHYA SEN VS VICTOR LAI ALL ENGLAND SEMIFINAL BELOW
India’s Lakshya Sen plays a shot against China’s Li Shi Feng during a men’s singles quarterfinals match on day fourof the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, Friday, March 6, 2026. (David Davies/PA via AP)
Lakshya Sen after entering All England semis: ‘Was extra prepared after long rallies… didn’t give any easy mistakes immediately after’
The beauty of badminton as Lakshya Sen has highlighted on two successive days is, you needn’t pin your opponent and corner them to the edges of the court. Sending the shuttle into that far, back corner where the opponent will wish for extendable limbs in chasing that fluttering flighty bird, always gets the job done. After NG Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong, Lakshya Sen kept sending tracer bullet shuttles to Chinese Li Shifeng’s far forehand back corner, to set the early tone and eventually won the match 21-13, 21-16 in 60 glorious minutes. (READ MORE)
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