India’s Lakshya Sen suffered a quarterfinal defeat at the All-England Badminton Championship 2025, losing in straight games to China’s Li Shifeng in Birmingham on Friday.
The 23-year-old Indian, who had delivered an impressive performance in the previous round, struggled to maintain his momentum and went down 10-21, 16-21 in a 45-minute encounter.
Sen, ranked World No. 15, had earlier stunned defending champion Jonatan Christie of Indonesia with a dominant 21-13, 21-10 victory. However, against Li Shifeng, the 2022 Asian Games gold medallist, Sen found himself on the back foot from the outset. Shifeng’s superior control and aggression helped him secure the first game comfortably, claiming it 21-10 after a nine-point streak.
The Indian shuttler showed more resilience in the second game, taking an 11-9 lead at the mid-game interval with improved shot placement and net play. However, Shifeng quickly regained his composure, using precise smashes and deceptive drops to reclaim control and close out the match 21-16.
With Sen’s exit, India’s singles campaign at the prestigious tournament came to an end. The country’s hopes now rest on the women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who are set to play their quarterfinal match later in the day.
In the women’s singles event, Malvika Bansod also bowed out after a pre-quarterfinal loss to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi. The two-time world champion and World No. 3 displayed her dominance, cruising to a 21-16, 21-13 victory in just 33 minutes, extending her unbeaten record against Indian players to 4-0.
Meanwhile, India’s top men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, made an unfortunate exit from the competition. The seventh-seeded duo was forced to withdraw from their pre-quarterfinal match against China’s Hao Nan Xie and Wei Han Zeng due to Chirag’s recurring back injury. At the time of withdrawal, the Indian pair was trailing 16-21, 2-2.
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March 17, 2025
