Lakshya Sen delivered a gritty, warrior-like performance in the men’s singles semifinal of the All England Open 2026, overcoming Canada’s Victor Lai in three games on Saturday, March 7, at the Utilita Birmingham Arena. The match lasted one hour and 37 minutes, with the scoreline reading 21-15, 18-21, 21-16 in Lakshya’s favour.
The deciding game was anything but straightforward. Lakshya battled severe cramps through the final set, turning the contest into a nerve-shredding affair that kept the Birmingham crowd on the edge of their seats right until the last point.
With this victory, Lakshya now stands one match away from making history. Having finished runner-up to Viktor Axelsen in the 2022 edition of the tournament, he will have the opportunity to become only the third Indian after legends Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand to clinch the prestigious All England Super 1000 title.
India’s campaign in Birmingham had taken several hits before Saturday’s semifinal. PV Sindhu was unable to travel to the tournament after being stranded in Dubai, while the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered an early exit. Lakshya’s run to the final has kept the Indian flag flying at one of badminton’s most historic events.
The 23-year-old’s path to the final has been nothing short of impressive. He opened the tournament by stunning World No. 1 Shi Yuqi, followed that up with a win over World No. 6 Li Shifeng, and then saw off Victor Lai widely regarded as one of the sport’s brightest young talents in a testing three-game battle.
Lakshya had taken the opening game in commanding fashion, racing to a 21-15 win in under 30 minutes, before Lai levelled the match by taking the second 21-18. However, cramps or not, Lakshya refused to yield, digging deep to close out the decider 21-16 and book his place in Sunday’s final.