Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen continued his impressive run at the All England Open 2024 badminton men’s singles event with a hard-fought win over Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia in the quarter-final on Friday, as per Olympics.com.
Sen, runners-up at the 2022 edition of the All England Open, prevailed over the 2021 champion 20-22, 21-16, 21-19 in one hour and 10 minutes. This was Sen’s fourth win over the Malaysian shuttler in five head-to-head meetings.
The Indian badminton player mixed his shots well to take a 5-1 lead in the first game. World No. 10 Lee Zii Jia, eight rungs above Sen in the badminton rankings, mounted a comeback to nudge ahead at 17-16.
Though Sen saved three game points to level the scores at 20-all with resolute defending, Lee Zii Jia kept his nerve to take the game on his fourth opportunity.
After a slow start to the second game, Sen bagged five points to make it 6-3 and went on to lead the Malaysian badminton player by two points at the break. Lee Zii Jia countered Sen with a string of quick smashes to lead at 16-14 but by winning the next seven points, Sen took the match into the decider.
All England Open 2024: Lakshya Sen advances to semifinals
