Lakshya stuns All England Championships title holder in opening round

Lakshya had beaten the Chinese in the Asian Games team championships in 2023 and won 23-21, 19-21, 21-17 to mark his first victory over him in a BWF world tour event.

New Delhi: Lakshya Sen pulled off a surprise win over former World No.1 and defending champion Shi Yu Qi in the first round of the All England Championships in Birmingham on Tuesday.

Lakshya had beaten the Chinese in the Asian Games team championships in 2023 and won 23-21, 19-21, 21-17 to mark his first victory over him in a BWF world tour event.

“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,” coach Vimal Kumar 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.”

In other matches, Malvika Bansod lost 11-21, 6-21 to China’s Chen Yu Fei while the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto won 21-17, 21-19 against Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin of Malaysia.

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