Lakshya Sen crashes out of All England Open as India suffers more disappointment

LONDON, March 15 — India’s Lakshya Sen crashed out of the All England Open as Li Shifeng swept to a 21-10, 21-16 win in the quarter-finals yesterday.

Sen, who reached the semi-finals at the Paris Olympics last year, lost to the Chinese sixth seed in 45 minutes in Birmingham.

It was a painful end to the world number 15’s title hopes, just 24 hours after he shocked Indonesian defending champion Jonatan Christie in the second round.

Sen, 23, reached the All England Open semi-finals last year and finished as the runner-up in 2022.

In the semi-finals, Li will face compatriot and top seed Shi Yuqi, who beat Loh Kean Yew 21-18, 21-16 in the last eight.

The other last four clash pits France’s Alex Lanier against Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao.

Lee defeated Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto 21-9, 21-18 and Lanier saw off Taiwan’s Wang Tzu-wei 21-19, 21-13.

There was more disappointment for India in the women’s doubles as Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand were beaten 21-14, 21-10 by Chinese second seeds Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning. — AFP pic