Lakshya Sen denied a historic All England title, losing to Lin Chun-yi in a thrilling final | Badminton News –

Lakshya Sen came agonizingly close to ending India’s long wait for a men’s singles title at the All England Open Badminton Championships, but fell short in the final against Lin Chun-yi of Chinese Taipei on Sunday.The 24-year-old from Almora put up a spirited fight in the summit encounter but ultimately lost 15-21, 20-22 in a thrilling 57-minute encounter full of quick exchanges and aggressive shots.

With this win, Lin made history by becoming the first player from Chinese Taipei to win the men’s singles title at the prestigious tournament.Lakshya’s defeat also means India awaits another All England men’s singles champion. Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) remain the only Indians to have lifted the title. In the past, Prakash Nath (1947) and

Saina Nehwal

(2015) also finished as runners-up, while Lakshya has now reached the final twice, having also finished as runner-up in 2022.

The Indian entered the final in excellent form having registered notable victories earlier in the tournament over world number one Shi Yuqi and world number six Li Shifeng.However, his path to the final was physically demanding. Lakshya endured a tough semi-final against Canadian Victor Lai that lasted 97 minutes, during which he suffered severe cramps and blisters in his foot.By the time the final began, Lakshya had already spent five hours and 16 minutes on court during the tournament, nearly an hour and a half more than Lin, and the accumulating fatigue appeared to be taking its toll in the closing stages.

The Indian took to the field with his thighs crossed and was slow to move, soon falling behind 0-3 as Lin got off to a blistering start.The Taiwanese left-hander repeatedly attacked the lines with powerful strikes, building a 6-2 lead as Lakshya searched for rhythm.Gradually, the Indian began to settle down, combining powerful hitting with precise play at the net to reduce the deficit to 7-8 and put Lin under pressure with quick attacks.However, Lin maintained a slim lead in the middle period of the match and quickly increased it with the help of a lucky net wire and a series of jump shots that pushed Lakshya back on the defensive.His ability to cover up direct and cross-court strikes with a similar setup made it difficult for Lakshya to anticipate the direction of the attack, allowing Lin to take the lead to 18-13.Despite a powerful recovery and precise pushes towards the backline from the Indian, Lin finished off the opener in 24 minutes.Lakshya struggled to find his rhythm at the start of the second game as well and trailed 3-4 after a few wide bounces.But the momentum soon changed.Taking advantage of some unforced errors from Lin, Lakshya took a 7-4 lead and later extended the lead to 9-4 as the Taiwanese briefly lost control of his length.The Indian held a three-point lead at halftime and extended it to 13-9 with a pinpoint comeback that landed right at the line.Lin then responded strongly with a series of powerful strikes, gradually closing the gap before leveling the score at 14-14.What followed was an exciting phase of play, highlighted by an extraordinary 46-shot rally that brought loud cheers from the spectators.Lin took a 16-15 lead with a cleverly disguised shot, but Lakshya immediately responded with a thunderous 321km/h strike to level the score.Then the Indian took a two-point lead, 18-16, after he executed a powerful shot and forced his opponent to commit a mistake.Lin responded again with two powerful strikes to bring the score to 18-18.With tensions rising, Lin earned the first tournament point after capitalizing on a poor comeback, but Lakshya showed tremendous resilience to save him with a brilliant defensive exchange.At 20 years old, the competition has entered a dramatic phase. Lakshya battled through another grueling rally but sent a shot wide, giving Lin a second match point.Moments later, Lin claimed the biggest win of his career when Lakshya again pushed the ball wide, bringing an exciting final to an end.