Lakshya Sen stuns the defending champion to reach the final.

Lakshya Sen, a World Championships bronze medalist, surprised reigning champion Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia to reach the All England Badminton Championships final for the first time on Saturday in Birmingham. Sen, 20, became only the fourth man's singles player to reach the final of the prestigious competition, joining Prakash Nath, Prakash Padukone, and Pullela Gopichand, after defeating sixth seed Lee 21-13, 12-21, 21-19 in a gruelling semifinal match that lasted one hour and 16 minutes.While Padukone (1980) and Gopichand (2001) are the only two Indians to win the coveted event, Nath (1947) and women's singles player Saina Nehwal (2015) were both eliminated in the final.

I was apprehensive, Sen said, but I was simply trying to play one point at a time and not think about the event.Towards the finish, I was simply trying not to think about what was going on around me; it was an All England semifinal, and thoughts were flooding in, but I was trying to stay focused. I'm glad I won the match and will be able to play again tomorrow. I'm going to take this opportunity to rest up before going all out tomorrow.In the last six months, Sen has been in phenomenal form. In December, he won his first world championship bronze, followed by his first Super 500 title at the India Open in January and a runner-up result at the German Open last week.

 

Sen, who had beaten Lee six years previously in an international competition at the India International Series, displayed remarkable tactical knowledge, agility, and mental fortitude as he rebounded from a mid-game slump to write history at the prestigious tournament."I think I got a solid length in the first game. I was doing well at the nets, and my lifts were excellent, but I made a lot of errors in the second game, and he had an early lead from which it was difficult to recover "The World No. 11 stated.

 

"In the third game, I attempted to play it cautious at the net rather than getting too close and losing a decent length." Because he is one of the finest attacking players in the world, his strategy in the final few points was completely different because he is one of the best attacking players in the world, and when there is a lot of pressure, you have to go all out and keep the attack going. In my thoughts, I knew I couldn't play to lose.

 

Sen had a fantastic defensive game and moved efficiently on the floor in the first game, eking out an 11-7 lead at halftime.Lee was able to reduce the field to 10-12 with a pair of his signature smashes. Sen led 13-11 after staying in long rallies and waiting for his opponent to tyre. Sen remained composed, and his tactical play paid off as Lee made a slew of unforced errors, giving the Indians a 17-12 advantage. Lee made a net error, followed by a desperation return that went wide. Sen added two more points before earning seven game points when Lee made another error, allowing the Indian to take a 1-0 lead in the match on the first opportunity.

 

Lee picked up his speed after the switch of sides and rapidly built a 9-2 lead. He was able to outshine a fighting Sen by mixing his shots nicely and showing amazing reflexes.The Indian hit a home run, giving Lee a commanding 11-3 lead at halftime. After taking a respite, the Malaysian went on a tear, winning a string of rallies to get to 16-5. He ultimately surged back into the race after winning another thrilling rally.In the decider, the duo continued to play at a frenetic pace, with Sen taking a 3-1 lead early on, but Lee immediately even the score with a backhand cross court return.

Lee appeared to be a step ahead of his opponent in terms of speed, winning a 67-shot rally next, as Sen struggled at the back of his court.The Malaysian, who led 7-5 at one time, added another point with a 372 km/h backhand smash.With Lee hitting long, Sen drew parity at 8-8. The Indian got another point on a body return, but Lee took a two-point advantage into halftime.Playing with the drift now, Sen made a minor error in his lifts, which went long, and Lee quickly moved to a 14-10 leadAn altercation Sen came up with a cross-court smash to take two match points after narrowing the score to 16-17. Lee was able to save one before the Indian was able to seal it.

Sen, a kid prodigy, is now just a step away from following in the footsteps of his master Prakash Padukone."...all those times when people said...," he continued, "it gave me belief that I could do it and it kept me going, and tomorrow I'm playing in the finals."Later in the day, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand of India will face Zhang Shu Xian/Zheng Yu of China in the semifinals of the women's doubles.