India’s Lakshya Sen plays a shot against China’s Li Shi Feng. (David Davies/PA via AP) Lakshya Sen cruised into the semi-finals of the All England Championship with a 21-13, 21-16 victory over former champion Li Shi Feng in Birmingham on Friday.This is Lakshya’s third semi-final appearance at a Super 1000 event. The Indian had earlier finished second in the 2022 edition.Almora’s shuttler was in full swing against Li in both games.
Jay Shah: Kapil Dev deserves more credit for the 1983 World Cup triumph
The Chinese player, who suffered a serious ankle injury at the World Tour Finals in December, was not at his best and struggled to keep pace with the Indian.Lakshya built a five-point lead (11-5) at the break in the first game and then did well to protect the cushion.After the break, Li reduced the deficit to 12-9, but Lakshya refused to back down under the pressure. He mixed powerful smashes with sharp fetches. At 15-12, the two engaged in a 65-shot rally that was won by Li. But just when the momentum seemed to have changed, Lakshya responded with a six-point burst to seal the first game.In the second game, Li started strongly with a 3-1 lead before Lakshya reeled off five points in a row. Although the Indian only held a slim one-point lead (11-10) at the break, he dominated the second half as Li struggled to keep pace.Lakshya will face the winner of the quarter-final between Japan’s Koki Watanabe and Canada’s Victor Lai in the semi-finals.China’s Lin Chun-Yi from Taipei and Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn also advanced to the semi-finals from the bottom half of the draw.
