Naveen Congratulates India’s Ace Shuttler Lakshya Sen on Entering Final of All England Open Badminton Championships

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has congratulated India’s ace shuttler Lakshya Sen on entering the final of the All England Open Badminton Championships.

Congratulate #India‘s star shuttler @lakshya_sen on entering the prestigious #AllEnglandOpen2022 final and becoming the fifth shuttler of the country to reach the @YonexAllEngland final. Wish him all the best for the final match. #OdishaForSports

— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) March 20, 2022

Lakshya Sen scripted history by becoming the first Indian in 21 years to storm into the men’s singles final of the All England Open Badminton Championships, beating Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the semi-final.

Sen, ranked world No 11, defeated world No 7 Jia 21-13, 12-21, 21-19 in an exciting semi-final clash which lasted for one hour and 16 minutes. With this win, Lakshya became the first Indian since Pullela Gopichand’s famous victory in 2001 to contest in the men’s singles final of the prestigious BWF Super 1000 event.

Overall, he became the fifth Indian shuttler after Prakash Nath (1947), Prakash Padukone (1980 and 1981), Pullela Gopichand (2001) and Saina Nehwal (2015) to reach the final of the Championships.

Notably, Only two Indians — Prakash Padukone (1981) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) — have won the prestigious title.