Lakshya’s brave run ends as Lin Chun-yi wins All England crown

Lakshya Sen fought with all his might but fell agonisingly short of ending India’s 25-year wait for an All-England crown, losing to Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-Yi in a high-intensity men’s singles final here on Sunday.

Playing his second All England final after finishing runner-up in 2022, the 24-year-old from Almora fought hard before losing 15-21, 20-22 in a 57-minute contest, marked by high-speed rallies and relentless attacking play.

“Yes, I think it was a good match today. The first set was, I think, he was a better player, but in the second game, I could have finished off better. But I’m happy with the way I played throughout the week,” Lakshya said.

“I’m feeling emotional right now, thinking about the match. But overall, lots of positive things today,” he added. The triumph made Lin Chun-yi the first player from Chinese Taipei to win the All-England men’s singles title.  Lakshya’s defeat meant that Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) remain the only Indians to have won the prestigious title, while Prakash Nath (1947) and Saina Nehwal (2015) had come closest with runner-up finishes before Lakshya’s two final appearances. Lakshya had arrived in the summit clash in impressive form after defeating some of the world’s best players, such as world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi and World No. 6 Li Shi Feng, during the week.

The Indian had endured a gruelling route to the final, including a marathon 97-minute semifinal against Canada’s Victor Lai during which he battled severe cramps and blisters on his foot. By the time he stepped on court on Sunday, Lakshya had spent five hours and 16 minutes in matches during the tournament — nearly an hour and a half more than Lin — and the physical toll appeared to show in the final stages. “Not ideal, to be honest,” Lakshya said about his physical condition.

“But when I was playing on court, I was not thinking about anything but to give my best on court. Yesterday I was struggling a bit with cramps, but I had some time to recover. I couldn’t recover 100%. “Towards the end of the week, all the players were tired with 4-5 matches. It could have been better, but this is what I had.”

Playing with strapping on both thighs, Lakshya made a slow start and trailed 0-3 as Lin immediately asserted himself with sharp attacking play. The left-handed Taiwanese, known for his explosive offence, repeatedly targeted the lines with stinging smashes, racing to a 6-2 lead while the Indian struggled to settle into rhythm. Lakshya gradually found his range, mixing smashes with delicate touches at the net to close the gap to 7-8 before pressing Lin with quick attacking bursts. However, the Taiwanese maintained a slender advantage at the mid-game interval and soon stretched the lead after a fortunate net cord and a series of powerful jump smashes that left Lakshya scrambling. Lin’s ability to disguise both straight and cross-court smashes with the same action made reading his attack difficult as he surged ahead to 18-13. Lakshya tried to stay alive with a series of retrieving efforts and precise pushes to the backline but Lin sealed the opening game in 24 minutes to leave the Indian facing an uphill battle.

The second game began with Lakshya still searching for rhythm and trailing 3-4 after a couple of wide tosses.

But the Indian soon turned the momentum around.

Capitalising on a series of errors from Lin, Lakshya surged to a 7-4 lead and then extended it to 9-4 as the Taiwanese briefly struggled with his length.

Lakshya held a three-point cushion at the break and pushed further ahead to 13-9 with a precise return that clipped the line. However, Lin responded with a barrage of smashes to narrow the gap and soon levelled the contest at 14-14. A thrilling exchange followed as the two traded blows in a remarkable 46-shot rally that drew loud applause from the crowd.

Lin edged ahead 16-15 with a perfectly disguised drop, but Lakshya replied with a 321 kmph smash to restore parity.

The Indian briefly moved two points clear at 18-16 after producing a fine sliced smash and forcing Lin into an error.

But the Taiwanese responded with two fierce smashes on either flank to level the score at 18-18. With the tension mounting, Lin moved to championship point after punishing a weak return, only for Lakshya to produce a remarkable defensive rally to save it.

At 20-all, Lakshya again fought through a draining exchange before sending a shot wide, handing Lin a second match point.

The Taiwanese seized the opportunity moments later when Lakshya pushed another return wide, sealing the biggest victory of his career.