Lakshya Sen fights back to beat Ng Ka Long Angus, reaches All England badminton quarterfinals

NEW DELHI: Lakshya Sen delivered a determined performance to defeat Ng Ka Long Angus and advance to the quarterfinals of the All England Open Badminton Championships on Thursday.

The world No. 12 Indian shuttler won a tough round-of-16 clash 21-19, 21-23, 21-10 after an intense three-game battle filled with long rallies and physical exchanges. Lakshya, who finished runner-up at the 2022 edition of the tournament, showed strong mental resilience to overcome his opponent, against whom he had previously lost all three matches.

“It was a very solid game, I think both the sets and also credit to him, he made a solid comeback in the second. I think I just didn’t play freely towards the end of the second set and gave too many easy shots for him to kill,” Lakshya said.

The match started with Lakshya trailing early in the opening game, but he gradually found his rhythm.

Using sharp smashes and precise placement, he recovered from a 4-6 deficit and built a solid lead before sealing the first game after a tense finish.

Lakshya looked in control in the second game and even built a comfortable lead midway through. However, Ng Ka Long mounted a late comeback and saved multiple match points to force the contest into a deciding third game.

“But yeah I think I was prepared again in the third set to just go all out and happy with the way I played in the third,” he added.

“Tactically I was playing the right game both the sets and yeah it’s just the last few points I didn’t stick to the plan, just gave too many easy errors. But again, it was important to just switch off, forget the second set, forget the first set and just play the third set with the same game plan which was working.”

In the decider, Lakshya quickly regained control, taking an early lead and dominating with strong defence and fast attacking shots. His opponent struggled to keep up as Lakshya pulled far ahead and comfortably closed out the match.

“I’m feeling pretty good on court especially, the last two matches and yeah now it’s time to again recover, another tough match tomorrow so just have 24 hours and then just go all out,” he added.