Lakshya Sen Storms into All England Open Quarterfinals
Image Source: Internet
Lakshya Sen produced a gritty performance to beat Hong Kong's Ng Ka Long Angus and storm into the men's singles quarterfinals of the All England Open Badminton Championships on Thursday.
World No. 12 Lakshya, a finalist at the 2022 edition, looked razor sharp as he fought through intense rallies and physical exchanges to outlast Ng Ka Long, a former world top 10 player, 21-19, 21-23, 21-10 in a pulsating round-of-16 contest.
Lakshya, a 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, will face either China's sixth seed Li Shi Feng or Ireland's Nhat Nguyen next.
Lakshya came into the match after losing all three encounters against his opponent and fell behind initially in the opening game. He fought back from 4-6 down to establish a 15-11 lead, keeping the pressure on his opponent with aggressive returns and sharp placement.
He extended the advantage to 17-13 with a well-timed overhead attack, but Ng Ka Long refused to fade away and narrowed the gap late in the game.
Lakshya slammed down a cross court smash to start the second game to continue the momentum. He kept his shot quality consistent and mixed his power with precision to take a 11-4 lead at the interval.
Lakshya had to reset his mind and start afresh after Ng Ka Long snatched the second game away and then showed great mental strength as he surged to 6-2 with some exciting shots. His defence was robust as Ng Ka Long couldn't get past anything.
Lakshya then upped the speed and injected pace into the rallies to move to 18-7. He pounced on another weak return at the net to move just two points away.
