Lakshya Sen Stuns Defending Champion Shi Yuqi in Thriller at All England Championships

Birmingham: India's Lakshya Sen gave a fine display of his mental strength and physical prowess, defeating China's Shi Yu Qi in a gripping three-game contest that swung on razor-thin margins and relentless pace here on Tuesday. Lakshya prevailed 23-21, 19-21, 21-17 in the contest that was as physical as it was tactical, marking his first victory over the former world No. 1 in a BWF world tour event.

Lakshya had defeated the Chinese in the Asian Games team championships in 2023.

"Lakshya was very calm and composed today. Right from the start, he made Shi work hard for every single point, and eventually the Chinese player began to tire," Vimal told PTI.

"At one stage in the second game, I felt Lakshya was getting a bit fatigued, but he recovered well and raised his level. His attacking play was excellent too.

"Overall, it was a very confidence-boosting win," he added.

Lakshya looked sharp from the outset, opening up an 11-7 lead at the mid-game interval in the first game with sharp, angled smashes and quick interceptions at the net. He stretched it to 17-12, repeatedly breaking down Shi's defence with steep cross-court winners and tight net exchanges.

However, the contest turned dramatic when Lakshya squandered leads of 18-12 and 19-16. Shi suddenly came alive, reeling off three straight points to draw level at 20-20. The Chinese saved three game points in a tense finish and forced 21-all after another burst of attacking play.

Lakshya earned a fourth opportunity but let it slip before Shi's backhand found the net to hand the Indian a fifth game point. This time Lakshya sealed it with a decisive cross court smash to pocket the opener.

After the change of ends in the second game, Shi made a positive start. Lakshya punished a short lift and unleashed a thunderous down-the-line smash to edge 6-5 ahead, but a miscued toss handed the Chinese the initiative at 9-8.

Shi entered the break with a three-point cushion.

The rallies grew longer and more punishing as both players engaged in a fierce physical battle. It became difficult to single out one dominant aspect as the match boiled down to who was fractionally better in key moments.

Lakshya trailed 13-19 at one stage but mounted a spirited comeback with a flurry of points to narrow it to 18-19.

Shi, though, produced a brilliant body smash to earn a game point and closed out the second game 21-19 to force a decider.

Lakshya's game was defined not just by raw power but by disciplined defence and sharp net play. His physical intensity forced Shi to aim closer to the lines, often pushing the Chinese into riskier strokes as the Indian retrieved shuttle after shuttle at breakneck speed.

In the decider, the two were locked at 6-6 before Shi edged ahead briefly. Lakshya erased the deficit and carried a narrow two-point lead into the final interval at 11-9.

From there, the Indian raised his level further. He punished a net error to move 13-11 ahead, putting away a weak return and then unleashed a cross-court winner to surge to 16-11.

Another down the line smash made it 18-14.

Shi challenged a call when he was judged to have hit long, with video referral confirming the shuttle had clipped the line, keeping the Chinese in the contest.

Lakshya responded with another stunning winner to go 19-16 up. Although he miscued once, he soon earned four match points.

After squandering one, Lakshya sealed the contest when Shi hit long.

In other results, Malvika Bansod suffered an 11-21, 6-21 loss to China's Chen Yu Fei.

The mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto registered a 21-17, 21-19 win over Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin of Malaysia.