Battling cramps in both his legs and with a right-foot blister, Lakshya Sen could barely move towards the end of a gladiatorial semi-final that lasted an unbelievable hour and 37 minutes. At the other end, Canadian Victor Lai fought on despite a cut in his playing hand and running out of breath.
It was nothing short of absolute cinema. But in the end, the ace Indian shuttler mustered every ounce of energy, courage and resilience left in his body to win the marathon battle against a younger opponent and reach the men’s singles final of the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham on Saturday.
By overcoming Victor 21-16, 18-21, 21-15 in the gruelling encounter, the world No.12 became only the second Indian after Prakash Padukone to reach the summit clash of the Super 1000 competition twice. Padukone won it in 1980, losing the next year’s final. Lakshya had lost the 2022 final — the last time an Indian reached the final — to Danish great Viktor Axelsen.
“Badminton at its toughest, and Lakshya at his bravest. Lakshya has made us all incredibly proud. The determination and resilience he showed were truly unmatched. It was a physically draining contest of the highest intensity, yet he fought every point with remarkable courage,” a delighted U Vimal Kumar, Lakshya’s coach, told HT.
“He employed the right tactics — controlling the pace and refusing to give Victor the fast rhythm he thrives on. I have rarely seen such an incredible display of courage, resilience, and heart on a badminton court. A performance to remember.”
In the first meeting between the two, the first point itself gave an idea of how the match was going to progress with Lakshya winning a 52-shot rally!
A player who is very quick with his returns, Victor barely allowed Lakshya any space to breathe. It was neck-and-neck as service exchanged hands after almost every point. Both displayed tremendous athleticism as there was barely anything to separate the two with a 21-year-old Victor giving Lakshya a lot to ponder on how to tackle him.
The Canadian has seen incredible rise over the last one year. From not even featuring in the top 100, he is now ranked 16th, knocking on the doors of the top echelons, having also clinched a bronze at last year’s World Championships.
Both remained patient with the pace of the rallies slowing down as the match progressed. But leading 17-16, Lakshya used his experience as he made the Canadian move from one end to the other, pushing the Canadian to the limit. Lakshya was aggressive at the net, controlled the shuttle, placed his smashes to perfection to win four successive points to pocket the first game.
Victor returned with a much more resolute defence. He used his height to push Lakshya to the back of the court regularly and just when the Indian was looking for another lob, the world No.16 rushed to kill the bird at the net to open up a 9-4 lead.
While the taller Victor was winning the longer rallies with brilliant court coverage, tiring the Indian out with a variety of shots, Lakshya was superior when it came down to quick, flat exchanges that helped him draw level at 16-all.
But Lakshya’s brilliance was also dotted with some absolute howlers which allowed Victor to pull away. Victor was able to increase or decrease the tempo at will which caused Lakshya to lose more points as a net error allowed the Canadian to push the match into the decider.
Both shuttlers started playing extremely safe badminton in the third game which neither risking it, elongating the rallies, many of which were easily 50-shots or more with 86 shots being the longest when Lakshya took a 5-4 lead. But the Canadian was tiring out faster. Noticing this, Lakshya upped the ante to turn his defence into offence, playing better up front by rushing to the net to lead 11-7 at the interval.
After the change of ends, Lakshya started cramping up and wasting time which forced the umpire to issue him a yellow card. The Indian had opened up a 15-9 lead but his inability to move due to his cramps allowed Victor to claw back, reducing the gap to 17-15.
But that’s also when Victor’s inexperience showed. Instead of capitalising on Lakshya’s cramps, he fed the Indian’s forehand regularly. With no alternative, Lakshya smashed at every available opportunity and found that last burst of energy to earn the last four points before hobbling over to embrace coach Yoo Yong-sung in the corner.
Padukone won the All England in 1980. Pullela Gopichand in 2001. For India’s first crown at the world’s oldest badminton tournament since then, Lakshya will have to beat Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei, who packed off second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 21-14, 18-21, 21-16 in an hour and 18 minutes. But will he have the legs to recreate that epochal moment in Indian sporting history?
