All England Championships: Lakshya Sen falls to Li Shi Feng in quarters

LAKSHYA SEN'S All England campaign ended in the quarterfinals as the Indian shuttler fell to former champion and world No. 6 Li Shi Feng of China 10-21, 16-21 in 44 minutes, in Birmingham on Friday (14).

Sen, ranked world No. 15, had won their last two encounters, including at the Thomas Cup, but struggled against his familiar Chinese opponent from the junior class of 2018.

The 2022 finalist, who narrowly lost a medal at the Paris Olympics, had shown promise earlier, knocking out defending champion Jonatan Christie.

However, he couldn’t maintain momentum against a clinical Feng, who now faces either top seed Shi Yu Qi or Loh Kean Yew in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, India’s women’s doubles duo Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand reached their third All England quarterfinal in four years.

Reigning men's singles world champion and Paris Olympics silver medallist Kunlavut Vitidsarn was knocked out in straight games after France's Alex Lanier triumphed 22-20 21-15 on Thursday.

Former badminton world number one Viktor Axelsen suffered a shock first-round defeat to Taiwan's Lin Chun-yi at the All England Open on Wednesday. (Agencies)