Laksha Sen His gritty performance earned him a place in the All England Badminton Open final, becoming the second Indian badminton player to reach the title twice after defeating Canada’s Victor Rai in a grueling semi-final on Saturday. The 24-year-old, who had previously reached the final in 2022, battled a determined opponent and a painful blister on his right toe to seal the victory 21-16, 18-21, 21-15 in a match that lasted 1 hour and 37 minutes. Sen’s achievements have brought him into a rare partnership with his mentor Prakash Padukone. The legendary Indian was a finalist in 1980 and 1981 and won the championship in his first appearance. Saturday’s semifinal will be a test of both players’ endurance and resilience. Mori and Lai participated in several grueling matches, some involving more than 50 shots, as neither player was willing to back down. The first game was very close until Sen took the lead 17-16. The Indians then changed their attitude and scored four consecutive points to win the first game. Rai responded strongly in the second game. Canadian is first Canadian to win medal in sport BWF World ChampionshipsHe led 11-7 at halftime and maintained the advantage although Sen managed a 16-16 tie while dealing with a blister. Lai eventually pushed the game into a decider. In the final game, Sen’s experience began to show. He patiently coordinated a well-planned attack to lead 15-9. Lai continued to fight back and narrowed the score gap to 17-15, but Sen finished strongly and scored 4 points in a row to seal his place in the final. In the championship match, Mori will face Chinese Taipei player Lin Chunyi. The left-handed player, who had just won the India Open, defeated Thailand’s second seed Kunlavu Vitisaan 21-14, 18-21, 21-16 in the semi-finals in 1 hour and 18 minutes to advance to the final.
