Badminton
All England Open 2026: Lakshya Sen enters Final – Highlights
Highlights from the semifinals of the 2026 All England Open.
Lakshya Sen will make his third semifinal appearance in Birmingham. (Photo credit: BWF/Badminton Photo)
All England Open 2026 LIVE: India’s Lakshya Sen made his way into the final of the 2026 All England Open Super 1000 with a hard fought win over Canada's Victor Lai in Birmingham on Saturday.
In a marathon 97-minute contest, Sen prevailed 21-16, 18-21, 15-21, battling through blisters, and cramps.
Sen will take on Chinese Taipei's Lin Chun Yi in the title clash on Sunday.
Here’s a look at Lakshya’s outings in the earlier rounds:
Round of 32: bt Shi Yuqi (1) 23-21, 19-21, 21-17
Round of 16: bt Ng Ka Long Angus 21-19, 21-23, 21-10
Quarterfinal: bt Li Shifeng (6) 21-13, 21-16
Highlights:
Live Updates
- 7 March 2026 8:46 PM IST
Victor Lai goes wide
Victor Lai is struggling now as well. His shots are starting to get loose now. A round-the-head shot from deep lands wide. Sen has a six-point advantage at 15-9.
- 7 March 2026 8:44 PM IST
Sen is struggling
Sen is rooted to one position for far too long, and he is now struggling to push forward to the net after smashes. He still leads 13-9.
- 7 March 2026 8:43 PM IST
Sensational smash!
Lakshya Sen puts the pain behind him, and leaps high and brings out a sensational cross court smash. The speedometer shows 354kph on that. WOW!
Sen leads 12-8.
- 7 March 2026 8:42 PM IST
Not looking good for Sen
Lakshya lunges forward to lift a shuttle, but he can't move back to return the shuttle pushed deep from Lai. He is struggling with the cramps now is Sen.
He wants a break, but the umpire doesn't let him.
"You either play or retire," the umpire warns.
- 7 March 2026 8:41 PM IST
Sen is cramping
"Cramps ho raha h legs mein," he tells his physio, who is on the court side.
This match has been draining and this is natural. Some quick massage on both thighs for Sen and he is good to go.
He picks up a yellow card for the delay caused by that.
Can Sen push through?
- 7 March 2026 8:39 PM IST
Lakshya Sen with the LEAD!
Good net dribble from the Indian and he wins the point to go up 11-7 at the mid-game interval.
- 7 March 2026 8:39 PM IST
Lakshya jumping to net with ease now
Sen is jumping into the net rather comfortably. He is pouncing on Lai's defensive blocks really well. Leads 10-7, does the Indian.
- 7 March 2026 8:38 PM IST
80 minutes into the match!
A flat exchange and Lakshya loses the point as he looks to push the shuttle into deep forehand corner. He leads 8-6.
It is followed by another long exchange and this time Sen breaks Lai's defence with a stellar smash. Sen leads 9-6.
We are 80 minutes into this match. And there's still a long way to go!
- 7 March 2026 8:36 PM IST
3 point lead for Lakshya
Victor Lai looks for a drop shot from the deep. Extremely soft hands from the Canadian, a bit too soft for the liking. The shuttle lands into the net and Lakshya has a three-point lead at 8-5.
- 7 March 2026 8:34 PM IST
Victor Lai loses a challenge
Another tiring rally and Lai's smash goes wide. He challenges, only to be proven wrong. Sen leads 7-5.
