All England Open 2024: Lakshya Sen may have lost the semifinal, but is inching closer to Olympics qualification

Currently World No. 18, Lakshya Sen is in a good position to make the 2024 Olympic cut alongside compatriot, HS Prannoy, the World No. 8. He plays in the Swiss Open and Spain Masters next. (Photo credit: Marcus Cyron via Wikimedia Commons 3.0)

In July last year, Lakshya Sen lost in the semifinal of the Japan Open. Through the rest of 2023, he failed to make any significant progress at various tournaments, and to his dismay, carried that form into the new year. A temporary slump is something that most athletes take in their stride. But in this Olympic year, where the top-16 of the world will make the cut for the Paris Games in July, it was a cause for concern for the 22-year-old shuttler.

However, when it matters most, Lakshya Sen has come to life, making the semifinals of consecutive tournaments to take 15th position in the Paris Olympics qualification race.

At the French Open earlier this month, he beat China’s Li Shi Feng, the defending champion of the All England Open, and former world champion, Loh Kean Yew of Singapore, in three hard fought games, before going down to current World No. 7 Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the semifinal.

And on Saturday, he made another deep run, this time at the All England Open, where he eventually went down to Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie 21-12, 10-21, 21-15 in the semifinal. What holds great significance is the fight he showed in previous rounds against two top-10 players, Anders Antonsen (World No. 3) and Lee Zii Jia (World No. 10). His calm temperament was evident against Antonsen when he trailed 2-8 in the decider, before emerging on top. And yet again at 19-19 in the third game against Zii Jia, where he kept his nerve to win the match.

The current World No. 18 is in a good position to make the Olympic cut alongside compatriot, HS Prannoy, the World No. 8. A lot more will be expected of Sen through the rest of the month when he plays the Swiss Open, followed by the Spain Masters.

The tattoos on his left arm read ‘Believe’ and ‘Never Give Up’. And Sen will need a lot of that spirit to sustain his momentum.