Lakshya Sen keen to build on positives after agonising loss

Lakshya Sen keen to build on positives after agonising loss

After another near miss at the All England Open, Lakshya Sen said the gruelling week in Birmingham packed with long matches and formidable opponents has “given a lot of confidence” even though the title slipped away in the championship match.

Lakshya became only the second Indian after his former coach Prakash Padukone to make the men’s singles final of the tournament twice.

He knocked out World No. 1 Shi Yuqi and beat World No. 6 Li Shifeng to reach the semifinals of the oldest badminton tournament.

Lakshya said the semifinal against Canada’s Victor Lai was one of the most physically demanding matches of the week.

“He’s very strong with his defence. To put the shuttle down against him, you really have to wait for the right chance,” Lakshya said during a virtual press conference on Tuesday.

The slow conditions made finishing points even harder for him. The draining contest stretched to 97 minutes and featured an 86-shot rally in the deciding game. Battling cramps and a blister on his foot, the Indian said he had to block out the pain and take the match “one point at a time” to eventually reach the final.