Lakshya Sen Bows Out Of All England Badminton Quarter-Final

India's Lakshya Sen bowed out of the All England Badminton Championships and so did the women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand after losing their respective quarterfinal matches in Birmingham on Friday. Sen exited after a straight-game loss to Chinese world No. 6 Li Shi Feng in the men's singles quarterfinal. The 2022 finalist, who had narrowly lost a Paris Olympic medal last year, was outplayed 10-21, 16-21 in a 45-minute contest. Then, the duo of Treesa and Gayatri went down to Chinese second seeds Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning 14-21 10-21 in a match lasting 46 minutes.

Treesa and Gayatri failed to recreate their outstanding performance in their round-of-16 victory against South Korea's Kim Hye Jeong and Kong Hee Yong on Thursday.

The Indians started on a bright note but once the formidable Chinese pair, perhaps the best in the world at the moment, found their footing, there was no stopping them as they tackled everything their opponents threw at them to emerge winners in straight games.

With this result, India's challenge at the prestigious tournament has also come to an end.

Earlier Sen, ranked world No. 15, and who had won his last two matches against Li, including at the Thomas Cup, on the day struggled against his familiar Chinese opponent from the junior class of 2018.

Feng stamped his authority early, winning the first game in just 17 minutes.

He played composed badminton, avoiding unnecessary risks. A powerful smash gave him a 9-4 lead, and he entered the break with a solid 11-4 advantage.

Sen's unsuccessful review left him trailing 4-12, but he briefly upped his attack, reducing the gap to 7-12 with a sharp cross-court smash.

However, Feng adjusted quickly, mixing up his pace and tactics