All England Championships final: Lakshya Sen books berth

Lakshya Sen returns to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia during the All England Badminton Championship semi-final at Birmingham on Saturday. Pic/AFP

World Championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen showed nerves of steel as he stunned defending champion Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia to book a maiden final berth in the All England Badminton Championships here on Saturday.

Sen, 20, became only the fourth men's singles player after Prakash Nath, Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand to reach the final after outwitting Lee 21-13, 12-21, 21-19 in a gruelling semi-final match that lasted one hour and16 minutes.

Lee Zii Jia

While Padukone (1980) and Gopichand (2001) are the only two Indians to have won the prestigious event, Nath (1947) and women's singles player Saina Nehwal (2015) had lost in the final.

Sen has been in sensational form in the last six months. He secured his maiden world championships bronze in December, before winning his first Super 500 title at India Open in January and finishing runner-up at the German Open last week.

Sen, who had defeated Lee the last time they faced in an international tournament six years ago at the India International Series, showed great tactical acumen, athleticism and mental fortitude as he recovered from a mid-game slump to script history at the prestigious tournament.

Four
Lakshya Sen is India's fourth men's singles player after Prakash Nath, Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand to enter this final

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