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Lakshya Sen admits fatigue from a gruelling semi-final affected him as he fell to Lin Chun-yi in the All England Open Badminton Championships final.
Lakshya Sen finished as runners-up at All England Championships (Picture credit: Badminton Photo)
Star Indian men’s singles shuttler Lakshya Sen admitted that his semifinal encounter at the All England Championships against Victor Lai, which lasted a whopping one hour and 37 minutes, did take its toll on his body, which eventually meant that Lakshya wasn’t at his best in the final against Lin Chun-Yi.
He fought but fell short of ending India’s 25-year wait for an All England Open Badminton Championships crown, losing to Chun-yi in a high-intensity men’s singles final in Birmingham on Sunday, March 8.
Playing his second All England final after finishing runner-up in 2022, Lakshya battled hard before going down 15-21, 20-22 in a 57-minute contest marked by high-speed rallies and relentless attacking play.
“The semi-final I played took a toll on my body, with the cramps I had. I did everything I could to recover well and come back fresh for the final, but it was tough to get back to 100%,” Lakshya said in response to a query from News18 Sports during a media interaction.
“The whole week had been demanding with long matches from the very first day and the muscles got tired. Even during the semi-final, I was cramping a lot and the fatigue was still there in the final,” Lakshya added.
“Of course, my opponent was also playing his fifth match of the week, but I just tried to give it my all and do my best,” Lakshya said.
The star Indian shuttler began his campaign at the All England this year with a massive win against top seed Shi Yu Qi in a three-game thriller. Lakshya followed it up with a victory over Ng Ka Long Angus, beating him 21-19, 21-23, 21-10.
Lakshya then stunned sixth seed Li Shi Feng in a gripping three-game thriller and followed it up with a win against Lai, defeating him 21-16, 18-21, 21-15, before losing the finals.
“I was just focusing on one match at a time and not thinking about the draw or who else was playing. When I stepped on the court, my only focus was on my match,” Lakshya said.
March 10, 2026, 15:28 IST
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