Lakshya Sen's dream run at the All England Championships ended with a straight-game loss against world No 1 and Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in the men's singles final on Sunday.
The 20-year-old, only the fourth men's singles player to reach the final of the prestigious tournament, went down 10-21, 15-21 to former champion Axelsen in match that lasted 53 minutes. The youngster gave it his best shot but the Dane, playing his fourth straight final in Birmingham, was at his best and used all of his experience to come out on top.
A week back, Sen had recorded his first win over former world champion Axelsen en route to his final appearance at the German Open but he couldn't get past the Dane's defence this time. Despite the runner-up finish, this has been a phenomenal week for the young Indian En route to the final, Sen had beaten defending champion Lee Zii Jia and third seed Anders Antonsen. Sen continued his sensational form in the last six months, which has included his first world championships medal in December as well as his first Super 500 title at India Open in January, besides finishing runner-up at the German Open last week.
While 2020 winner Axelsen claimed the men's singles title for the second time, Japan's Akane Yamaguchi won the women's singles crown, beating South Korea's An Seyoung 21-15 21-15 in the final.
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The 20-year-old Sen became only the fourth men's singles player to reach the final of the prestigious tournament after outlasting defending champion Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia 21-13, 12-21, 21-19 in a gruelling semi-final that lasted one hour and 16 minutes. His first All England final comes on the back of a scintillating run of form where he has beaten four top-10 players in the span of a week, including his final opponent.
The All England Championship is a significant tournament for Indian badminton. Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) are the only two Indians to have won it while Prakash Nath (1947) and women's singles player Saina Nehwal (2015) have finished runner up. If Sen pulls off another upset in what has been a fabulous month for him, he will become just the third Indian and the first in 21 years to win the All England crown.