India's protracted quest for the prized trophy was prolonged on Saturday when star shuttler Lakshya Sen lost three games against Indonesia's Jonatan Christie in the quarter-finals of the All England Championships to miss his meeting with history.
The 22-year-old, seeded second in the 2022 tournament, was soundly beaten by world number nine Christie, the 2018 Asian Games gold medalist, 21-12, 10-21, 15-21 in a match by razor-thin margins. The match lasted 68 minutes.
Star shuttler Lakshya Sen of India went down in three games against Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the quarter-finals of the All England Championships, delaying a meeting with history and prolonging a tough journey to the coveted title.
In a match decided by an extremely close margin, the 22-year-old, who was ranked second in 2022, was beaten by world number nine Christie, the 2018 Asian Games gold medalist, 21-12, 10-21. , 15-21. The match had 68 minutes. In the semi-finals, both offensive players dominated tight lightning rallies that reached speeds of 350 km/h. It was a smash fight.
The dream started very badly and allowed Christie to control the game by effectively reading the situation and taking the shuttle in time. It wasn't long before it was 11–7 and Sen blasted one wide. With another stunning cross-court smash, the Indonesian punished anything the Indian attempted a little less to extend the advantage to 17-10. Christie made it eight game points after another Indian foul at the net and a wide smash to complete the victory with a winner. But with the change of sides, the tempo changed completely, with Sen showing more aggression and leading 7-3. Now it was Christie who was making a series of careless mistakes. The Indian took an 11-3 lead after making a mistake at the net and missing a wide ball. He increased the lead to 13-3 after blocking the Indonesian's powerful smash with a backhand. Sen advanced to 17-5 as Christie tried to improve the situation but was hampered by his mistakes. Sen reached 379 km/h 18–6. The Indian even made a backhand return during an even exchange, but Christie won the break and quickly moved to 9-18 in an attempt to disrupt Sen's flow. However, Sen moved to 10 game points after Christie missed and sealed the deal with a well-placed online smash. Sen used well-timed strikes to keep his opponents at bay during the opening exchanges of the final to open up a 3-0 lead. However, Christie got three points back to level the scores. Sen's ability to produce powerful and accurate smashes served him well as he went 6-3.
The dream was worn out after a 63-shot exchange at 6-4 when Christie secured it with a deft strike. The momentum swung again when Christie took the lead with a body smash to lead by three at the half.
The Indonesian soon started releasing massive hits. After making it 13-9 with a sharp smash down the line, Christie maintained a four-point lead at 14-10 with another smash. Sen flew over the net with a deft serve, giving Christie a 15-10 lead. Christie made it 17–12 thanks to a series of smashes and soon had eight match points at his disposal. The Indian ended all dreams by hitting the net after saving three match points.
