Lakshya Sen storms into men’s final in All England badminton

Dubai: India’s Lakshya Sen continued his dream run at the All England Badminton Championships when stunned Lee Zii Jia 21-13, 12-21, 21-19 in three games to enter his maiden final at the event.

World Championships bronze medallist Lakshya had advanced to the semi-final after his opponent Lu Guang Zu of China gave a walkover on Friday. The 20-year-old had earlier stunned world No 3 and two-time medallist at World Championships, Anders Antonsen of Denmark, 21-16 21-18 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals.

He opened up a 11-7 lead at the interval in the first game in a battle between two top shuttlers. The Indian was solid and defended brilliantly Lee’s attack and took the opening game 21-13.

However, Malaysian Lee made a strong comeback and hit a string of sensational winners to claim the second game. In the decider, Lakshya put up a phenomenal fight, didn’t give up and eventually won it 21-19.

The Indian would be looking to continue his stellar form as he is now a win away from emulating the two all-time greats in Indian badminton - Prakash Padukone and Pulella Gopichand who won the prestigious event. Saina Nehwal had reached the final in 2015.