Lakshya Sen (PTI Photo/Nand Kumar) Lakshya Sen showed guts and grit to defeat China’s Shi Yu Qi in a thrilling three-game battle on Tuesday as he won 23-21, 19-21, 21-17 at the All England Open Badminton Championships. It was his first win over the former world number one at a BWF World Tour event and it didn’t come easy.The match was exciting from start to finish, with long rallies and both players pushing each other to the limit. Lakshya started strongly, taking control of the first game with sharp smashes and quick play across the net. Although he almost let it slip away after leading comfortably, he held his nerve in a tense finish to claim the opener.Coach Vimal praised his performance and said, “Lakshya was very calm and composed today. Right from the start, he made Shi work hard for every single point and eventually the Chinese player started to tire.”Even though Shi fought and won the second game, Lakshya did not lose focus.“At one stage in the second match, I felt Lakshya was getting a bit tired but he recovered well and raised his level. His attacking play was also outstanding,” he added. “Overall it was a very confident win.Again the decision was close, but Lakshya’s speed, defense and smart shot selection made the difference. He remained aggressive, forcing errors from Shi and ending the match when the Chinese player hit long on the match.In other matches, Malvika Bansod lost to China’s Chen Yu Fei in straight games. However, the mixed pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto secured a straight games victory over Malaysians Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin.
