All England Open: Lakshya Sen’s dream run ends as world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen wins his 2nd title

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All England Open: World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen brought his A game against young Lakshya Sen looking nervous to win his second title in Birmingham.

All England Open: Lakshya Sen's dream run ends with Viktor Axelsen's second title win (AFP Photo)

All England Open: Lakshya Sen’s dream run ends with Viktor Axelsen’s second title win (AFP Photo)

World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen, who won the top prize at the Tokyo Olympics, joined the elite list of Danish shuttles after ending 20-year-old Lakshya Sen’s dream run in Birmingham to win his second All England Open title on Sunday.

All the final highlights of the England Open

Viktor Axelsen dominated and won the opening game 21-10. There were very few highlights for the young Indian shutter in that game as Axelsen came through. The Dane dominated the exchange from the back of the pitch. Despite being good at the net, Lakshya didn’t take enough risks.

The Indian clasp outclassed defending champion Lee Zii Jia in a hard fought match, came back from behind in the decider. The Almora shuttle became the first Indian in 21 years to reach the final of the All England Championships. Only three Indian men Prakash Nath (1947), Prakash Padukone (1980 and 1981) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) have been there and done so before Lakshya. Only Padukone and Gopichand have won the prestigious title for India. Saina Nehwal reached the final in 2015 but lost to Spanish star Carolina Marin.

Lakshya had beaten Olympic champion Axelsen (German Open), Olympic bronze medalist Anthony Ginting (All England), world champion Loh Kean Yew (India Open), world bronze medalist Anders Antonsen (All England) and last year’s champion Lee (All England) had all the tools to to make it count on Sunday but the Danish star brought his game to Birmingham.

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