BIRMINGHAM — India’s premier men’s singles shuttler Lakshya Sen secured a spot in the semifinals of the All England Open 2026 with a masterful straight-games victory over former champion Li Shi Feng. In a high-stakes quarterfinal match on Friday night, Sen defeated the sixth-seeded Chinese player 21-13, 21-16 in exactly sixty minutes, continuing an impressive campaign that began with an upset over the defending champion.
The 24-year-old Indian, who reached the final of this prestigious tournament in 2022, entered the match with a balanced 7-7 head-to-head record against Li. However, his current form and aggressive court coverage proved to be the deciding factor. Sen opened the first game with a dominant 10-4 lead. Although Li staged a brief recovery to bring the score to 15-13, the World No. 12 surged forward with six consecutive points to claim the opening set.
The second game presented a more rigorous challenge as the players engaged in exhaustive rallies. Li held a narrow lead at the mid-game interval, but Sen’s tactical discipline allowed him to pull away at 14-13. By securing four straight points at a critical juncture, Sen effectively neutralized Li’s comeback attempt. Following the match, Sen credited his resilience to his coach’s advice, noting that while both players were visibly fatigued, he remained focused on minimizing errors during the marathon rallies.
As the last Indian player remaining in the tournament, Sen is now set to face Canada’s Victor Lai in the semifinals. Lai earned his place in the final four after a grueling three-game battle against Japan’s Koki Watanabe. Despite the momentum of his back-to-back victories against top-tier opponents, Sen remains grounded, stating that his immediate priority is recovery and approaching the tournament one match at a time rather than focusing on the potential title.
