Lakshya Sen falls to Li Shi Feng in All England Badminton quarterfinals | Badminton Information

Lakshya Sen (Picture credit score: X)

NEW DELHI: India’s Lakshya Sen exited the All England Badminton Championships following a straight-game defeat to Chinese language world No. 6 Li Shi Feng within the males’s singles quarterfinals on Friday. The 2022 finalist, who narrowly missed an Olympic medal in Paris final yr, was outplayed 10-21, 16-21 in a 45-minute encounter.
Ranked world No. 15, Sen had gained his final two encounters towards Li, together with on the Thomas Cup. Nonetheless, this time, he struggled towards his acquainted Chinese language rival from the junior class of 2018.

Feng dominated early, wrapping up the primary sport in simply 17 minutes. Enjoying with composure and avoiding pointless dangers, he surged to a 9-4 lead with a strong smash and entered the break with an 11-4 benefit. Sen’s unsuccessful overview left him trailing 4-12, however a short resurgence noticed him cut back the deficit to 7-12 with a pointy cross-court smash. But, Feng rapidly adjusted, mixing up his tempo and ways to clinch the sport.
Sen confirmed enchancment within the second sport however could not match Feng’s consistency. Trailing 2-5 initially, Sen fought again with higher internet play, taking a 10-8 lead after a grueling 37-shot rally. He maintained a slender three-point lead on the break and fought onerous in a decent contest, with a marathon 44-shot trade tying the rating at 14-all. Nonetheless, Feng’s aggression proved decisive as he surged forward 17-15 with a strong smash.
At 15-18, Sen suffered finger bruises, spilling blood on the court docket and requiring medical consideration, resulting in a short stoppage. Nonetheless, the break did little to disrupt Feng’s momentum as he sealed the match with one other thunderous smash.
Regardless of the loss, Sen’s marketing campaign was commendable, highlighted by his gorgeous straight-game victory over defending champion Jonatan Christie, avenging his semifinal defeat to the Indonesian final yr.
With this win, Feng advances to the semifinals to face the winner between high seed Shi Yu Qi and Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew.
In the meantime, India’s doubles duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty withdrew on account of harm, Malvika Bansod bowed out in ladies’s singles, and the blended doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde additionally fell quick.