All England Open 2024: Lakshya Sen’s semi-final loss to Jonatan Christie ends India’s campaign in Birmingham

Lakshya Sen fell one step short of the men’s singles final at the All England Open Badminton Championships 2024 after losing in the semi-finals to Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on Saturday.

The 22-year-old Indian badminton player faced a 12-21, 21-10, 15-21 loss against Christie, who held a 2-1 head-to-head record over Sen prior to this 68-minute encounter.

It was a match with several highs and lows as Christie took charge of the first game and extended his lead from 11-7 at the mid-game interval to take the lead.

However, Sen, who finished runners-up at the All England Open in 2022 after losing the final to two-time world champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, dictated the tempo in the second game.

A series of mistakes from the World No. 9 Indonesian as well as some fantastic attacking shots allowed world No. 18 Sen to force a decider.

Sen also began the third game with a flurry of attacking shots but Christie showed plenty of composure to claw his way back into the contest. At the mid-game interval, Sen was down 8-11.

Having essentially played over an hour more than Christie in the ongoing competition, Sen looked exhausted by the second half of the decider and mistakes crept into his game. Despite denying the Indonesian three match points, Sen was unable to force a dramatic turnaround.

Jonatan Christie will now face compatriot Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the men’s singles final of the All England Open 2024.

Sen’s exit also brought India’s campaign at the All England Open 2024 to an end. PV Sindhu and Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy bowed out in the second round of women’s singles and men’s doubles, respectively.

The All England Open, a BWF Super 1000 event, offered crucial ranking points for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The ranking period for badminton started on May 1, 2023, and will end next month.