Lakshya Sen will face the world’s number 1 Viktor Axelsen in the men’s singles final.© AFP
Lakshya Sen is on the cusp of becoming only the third Indian to win a title at the prestigious All England Open Badminton Championships. The 20-year-old Sen will face the number 1 in the world, Viktor Axelsen, in the final of the men’s singles on Sunday. Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand are the only Indians to ever win the All England Badminton Championships. India’s rising badminton star has been in top form lately. He took his first World Cup bronze in December, before winning his first Super 500 title at India Open in January and finishing second at the German Open last week.
By the way, Lakshya defeated Sen Axelsen on his way to the final at the German Open.
Ahead of the highly anticipated final, Anand Mahindra took to Twitter to greet Lakshya Sen’s “challenger spirit” and said the Indian shuttle is “a world champion in the making”.
“Just look at @lakshya_sen’s challenger spirit. We are witnessing a world champion in the making… My Sunday is now discussed; will watch the final. Rise today, Lakshya… There are over a billion voices that you encourage,” Anand Mahindra wrote over a video of the Lakshya’s semifinal victory over defending champion Lee Zii Jia.
Just look at the challenger spirit of @lakshya_sen We are witnessing a world champion in the making… My Sunday is now discussed; will watch the final. Stand up today, Lakshya… There are over a billion voices cheering you on… https://t.co/6nUUXcjUZB
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 20, 2022
On Saturday, Sen defeated Malaysia’s sixth-seeded Lee 21-13, 12-21, 21-19 in a grueling semi-final that lasted an hour and 16 minutes.
“I was absolutely nervous, but I was just trying to play one point at a time and not the opportunity,” said Sen after his win over the Malaysian.
promoted
“Towards the end I just tried not to bother with the stuff going around. It was an All England semi-final and the thoughts started rolling in, but I tried to keep myself focused.”
(with PTI inputs)
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