All posts tagged: All England Open

Lakshya Sen returns to top 10 in BWF rankings after 440 days

Lakshya Sen returns to top 10 in BWF rankings after 440 days

Published by Webster

Lakshya Sen has returned to the top 10 of the Badminton World Federation men’s singles rankings, marking a major milestone in the Indian shuttler’s comeback journey after a prolonged period affected by injuries and setbacks. The 24-year-old climbed back to World No. 10 for the first time since March last year, completing a resurgence that has taken more than 440 days. The achievement comes after a challenging phase in which Lakshya dealt with injuries, rehabilitation and inconsistent form while attempting to regain his place among the world’s elite. Despite the difficult period, Lakshya continued to produce notable performances on the international stage. Over the course of his career, he has won titles such as the Canada Open, secured a silver medal at the prestigious All England Open and played a key role in India’s Thomas Cup campaigns. The Indian shuttler also represented the country in the bronze medal-winning team at the Thomas Cup 2026, further underlining his importance to Indian badminton. Strong performances fuel rankings rise Lakshya has shown encouraging form throughout the 2026 season …

Lakshya Sen’s All England title miss has a silver lining – it keeps him driven for those elusive titles in the future | Badminton News

Lakshya Sen’s All England title miss has a silver lining – it keeps him driven for those elusive titles in the future | Badminton News

Published by Webster

4 min readMar 15, 2026 08:30 AM IST It’s not a mere faint silver lining to a cloud. This is a complete dazzling rettai pettu Kanjeevaram double border golden lining to that dark, dimming cloud of losses in sport. Lakshya Sen losing his second All England final can get dissected in many ways. But the best way to look at it would be that Sen will remain hungry to prove himself, driven to make more finals and cross the threshold, keep working on his game and not for a moment think he has arrived. Because Indian badminton needs its top names to get hardy and high viz at big events, and not rest on whatever laurels they’ve accumulated. Perhaps the most heartbreaking of medal losses at Paris Olympics was that of Vinesh Phogat’s. But what also cut deep, a close second, was Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s. India returned without a badminton medal from Paris, but every loss, by denying them what they thought was due to them, has prolonged the motivation to dust up …

Lakshya Sen after All England Open runner-up finish

Lakshya Sen after All England Open runner-up finish

Published by Webster

The wait for another men’s singles champion at the All England continues but after what Lakshya Sen produced in Birmingham last week, the wait feels shorter than ever. Sen walked away with a runner-up finish, going down 21-15, 22-20 to Lin Chun Yi of Chinese Taipei in Sunday’s final. But the scoreline only tells half the story. The Indian shuttler had spent the better part of five gruelling days on court, grinding through long three-set battles, fighting off cramps and blisters in the semifinals, and still walking out for the final with everything he had left. The week began with what Sen himself described as feeling like a final before the tournament had even truly started a first-round clash against world number one Shi Yuqi. He won. Then came Angus Ng Ka Long, Li Shi Feng, and Victor Lai, each match longer and more physical than the last. “Right from day one, there were long matches,” Sen said while addressing the media in a virtual press interaction facilitated by BAI, “and eventually the muscles got …

Lakshya Sen Match Today Scorecard Latest Updates

Lakshya Sen Match Today Scorecard Latest Updates

Published by Webster

Lakshya Sen vs Victor Lai Live Score: Lakshya Sen takes on Victor Lai in the semifinal of All England. (AP) Lakshya Sen vs Victor Lai Live Score, All England Open Badminton Semi Final 2026 LIVE Score Updates: After a straight-games victory against Li Shifeng in the quarterfinal on Friday, India’s Lakshya Sen will look to punch his ticket to the All England Open final when he takes on world No. 16 Victor Lai in the semifinal on Saturday. Lakshya has been on a roll in this tournament, having defeated world No. 1 and defending champion Shi Yuqi in the opening round and then followed up with another win against Hong Kong’s NG Ka Long Angus in the Round of 16. On Friday, he blazed past a familiar rival in Shifeng with a stellar all-round performance to continue his amazing form in the event. Story continues below this ad “Happy with the way I played both sets. But credit to him he played well. Like he played a very solid game with quite some long rallies,” …

Lakshya Sen vs Li Shifeng match today Scorecard Latest Updates

Lakshya Sen vs Li Shifeng match today Scorecard Latest Updates

Published by Webster

Lakshya Sen vs Li Shifeng LIVE: Lakshya Sen takes on Li Shifeng at the All England. (AP) Lakshya Sen vs Li Shifeng Live Score, All England Open Badminton Quarter-Final 2026 LIVE Score Updates: Lakshya Sen, the last Indian left standing at the prestigious All England Open, will take on Li Shifeng in the quarterfinal on Friday. To reach this stage, Lakshya had to go through Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long Angus in the Round of 16 encounter on Thursday, before which he had stunned top seed and defending champion Shi Yu Qi in the first round on Tuesday. The head to head contests between Lakshya and Shifeng is currently tied at 7-7 with the Indian hoping to take the lead after Friday’s contest. With the world No 12 in fine form after breaking the jinx against Ng Ka Long Angus, who he hadn’t beaten in three meetings, in the previous round, he’d be looking to continue his impressive performance in the quarters against an opponent he has been facing since his junior days. Read more …

Lakshya Sen sees off tricky NG Ka Long Angus to reach All England quarterfinals | Badminton News

Lakshya Sen sees off tricky NG Ka Long Angus to reach All England quarterfinals | Badminton News

Published by Webster

The anomaly, the distraction, the foot off the pedal, the missed chance of the second set, didn’t cost Lakshya Sen anything more than 17 more minutes on the court. The Indian, on a stomp since he evicted top seed Shi Yuqi from Round 1, was back on the All England show court, looking ominous, as he defeated NG Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong, 21-19, 21-23, 21-10 in a contest that looked lopsided in the end. In making yet another quarterfinals at his favourite tournament – Sen has a final and semifinal at the Super 1000 – the Indian ranked No.12 finally put it across an old nemesis, the Hong Kong 31-year-old having been undefeated in three prior games. Angus had fore-warned with the first rally of the match that went over 40 shots, that he was prepared to fight it out in punishing long rallies, but at 17-11 and 19-14 up in the second, Sen seemed like he would not be troubled, just a tad inconvenienced by the gritty opponent, 31 years old, and …

All England Open: Why Lakshya Sen’s second round opponent is tricky | Badminton News

All England Open: Why Lakshya Sen’s second round opponent is tricky | Badminton News

Published by Webster

2 min readMar 5, 2026 03:44 PM IST Coach Vimal Kumar had joked that next Sunday could witness Lakshya Sen vs Ayush Shetty in the All England finals, though the younger Indian was found wanting in stamina at the finish, leaving only Sen as the Indian capable of going the distance. Yet, a tricky opponent stands in his path – NG Ka Long Angus. Though the two have not played since May 2023, the Hong Kongese holds a 3-0 h2h advantage over the Indian, built from a very specific style of game. The reason are the 31-year-old’s deceptions which are always lethal for his Indian challenger half a dozen years his junior. “Angus is not easy at all, though Lakshya would’ve recovered from a day’s rest,” Vimal Kumar had said. A prowling cat on the court, Angus maximises his movement with shots that at a sustained level, tend to look like crowding and attacking opponents. He is especially elusive in the deciding sets or the defining second set if he has already won the opener, …

Sindhu, Srikanth, and the All England question: Gopichand on its relevance and India’s hopes | Badminton News

Sindhu, Srikanth, and the All England question: Gopichand on its relevance and India’s hopes | Badminton News

Published by Webster

Pullela Gopichand doesn’t reckon PV Sindhu or Kidambi Srikanth’s legacies will be incomplete if they never win the All England. The tournament, though, needs a shake-up to remain a must-win on every illustrious badminton CV. However, having won it himself, the last Indian to do so, he can’t stop wondering if another might come along and get the thing done, at the upcoming edition in a fortnight, from March 3-8. “Sindhu still can win, she has it in her…and I think someone like Ayush Shetty has a very good chance to turn up out of the blue and win it,” he says, 25 years after his own defining triumph, while upbeat about fellow Indians. The emotion of his win has crystallised into a clear perspective. “What’s so special about All England?” some current players ask. “Since I won it, I’ll say it’s a big deal!” Gopichand laughs but understands why it might not hold the same reverence today. It’s the closest that badminton has to a storied chronicle, a tapestry that goes back considerable years. …

‘Still have lot of badminton left in me’: Viktor Axelsen says he will be out of action for a while due to surgery for back issues | Badminton News

‘Still have lot of badminton left in me’: Viktor Axelsen says he will be out of action for a while due to surgery for back issues | Badminton News

Published by Webster

Danish superstar shuttler Viktor Axelsen confirmed on Saturday that he is set for a spell on the sidelines from badminton action as he has decided to undergo surgery for his persistent back trouble. The two-time Olympic champion, however, confirmed that he still intended to make a comeback to action. “After consulting with my medical team, I have decided to undergo endoscopic treatment for my back issues next week,” Axelsen posted on social media. “While this means I will need some weeks for rehab post-surgery, I am confident that I will come back stronger. I still feel like I have a lot of badminton in me, and I’m fully committed to doing everything necessary to return to the court at my best.” After losing in the first round at the prestigious All England Open in Birmingham this month against Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun Yi, Axelsen had said that he had been dealing with severe back/nerve pain for several months now, and that there were just too many days where my body doesn’t allow me to move …

Why All England Open winner Shi Yuqi is not the stereotypical Chinese champion | Badminton News

Why All England Open winner Shi Yuqi is not the stereotypical Chinese champion | Badminton News

Published by Webster

Shi Yuqi is teaching China’s badminton barons to tiptoe around eggshells, and cultivate patience with athletes who might be physically or mentally weak(er). In between his two All England crowns — 2018 and 2025, Chinese sport has come a long way in learning to accommodate human fragilities — like having public meltdowns after losing, becoming Viktor Axelsen’s bunny on the Tour after repeatedly losing, and crumpling to the floor mid-match and being stretchered off due to high fever. Yuqi is prone to mental health breakdowns and to giving up because the body is crying out in pain physically. But both athlete and the badminton establishment have somehow clung on to not give up on each other. At Birmingham, Yuqi (pronounced yuchi), assured the coaches that their patience and backing was totally worth it, though China won’t ever stop looking for indestructible tall specimens who don’t come with the associated shenanigans. It’s unprecedented in Chinese men’s badminton that gets notoriously fretful over any weakness on court, and given how Lin Dan was followed by Chen Jin …