Lakshya Sen vs Li Shifeng LIVE: Lakshya Sen takes on Li Shifeng at the All England. (AP)Lakshya Sen vs Li Shifeng Live Score, All England Open Badminton Quarter-Final 2026 LIVE Score Updates: Lakshya Sen, the last Indian left standing at the prestigious All England Open, defeated China’s Li Shifeng 21-13, 21-16 in the quarterfinal on Friday. It marked Lakshya’s first win in four matches against Shifeng, as he had lost the last three meetings against his junior batchmate. But on Friday, Lakshya was on fire as he came through a tough test in straight games in exactly one hour. The head to head contests between Lakshya and Shifeng was tied at 7-7 with the Indian now retaking the lead after Friday’s contest. With the world No 12 in fine form after breaking the jinx against Ng Ka Long Angus, who he hadn’t beaten in three meetings, in the previous round, he’d be looking to continue his impressive performance in the semifinal on Saturday.
In the semifinals, Laskhya will face Canada’s Victor Lai in what would be their first meeting on the BWF World Tour. Read more about Lakshya’s quarterfinal win here.
To reach this stage, Lakshya had to go through Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long Angus in the Round of 16 encounter on Thursday, before which he had stunned top seed and defending champion Shi Yu Qi in the first round on Tuesday.
Read more about Lakshya’s win against Ng Ka Long Angus here and against Shi Yu Qi here.
So it will be Victor Lai vs Lakshya Sen on Saturday, the schedule is yet to be announced.
Join us for the live coverage on Saturday night.
In the meantime, do check out Shivani Naik's report of Lakshya's win here.
Victor Lai makes history for Canadian badminton yet again as he reaches the All England semfinal. What a run he is on. One of the most exciting talents in badminton Victor Lai vs Lakshya Sen in the semifinal on Saturday.
Victor Lai on the verge of another huge win.
Shivani Naik reminisces: Every All England quarterfinal Friday is also an occasion to recall the grandest QF names to grace the All England, though this was at London, not Birmingham. Indonesian Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka who kept popping up in Lee Chong Wei's life and springing surprises, including a near upset at the Worlds. At the All E, though, he was crushed.
And the Canadian hope fights on. He takes the second game against Koki to force a decider. What a talent this guy is.
Shivani Naik with a late-night thought as Viktor Lai plots his comeback: Could be wrong, because the Sen-Shifeng match was so enthralling. But at the start of the second set, Lakshya went blank briefly, as if hypnotized by something floating around him. Could've been a stray feather from a shuttle, but he swatted at it like most Indians at home do - like a zapper frying a mosquito or a fly. Wonder how many caught that surreal moment.
Watch: Highlights from a wonderful win for Lakshya Sen vs Li Shifeng.
Koki Watanabe wins a thrilling first game. Victor Lai will have to take the scenic route if he wants to set up a semifinal against Lakshya.
Shivani Naik with nice inputs on Victor Lai, who created history last year by winning bronze medal at the World Championships, the first ever for Canada.
The Mandarin Badminton Club where Victor Lai trains in Ontario, has only 6 courts under former Guangzhou shuttler Chen Kang, a Barcelona Olympian and Thomas Cup champion, and silver medallist at All England in 1993, and ABC champ in 1994. But their gym is to die for! It's a candystore for lifters. Victor Lai though is coached by Chau Hoi Wah Cathy, a mixed doubles shuttler whose first title came in Mongolia.
The beauty of badminton as Lakshya Sen has highlighted on two successive days is, you needn’t pin your opponent and corner them to the edges of the court. Sending the shuttle into that far, back corner where the opponent will wish for extendable limbs in chasing that fluttering flighty bird, always gets the job done. After NG Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong, Sen kept sending tracer bullet shuttles to Chinese Li Shifeng’s far forehand back corner, to set the early tone and eventually won the match 21-13, 21-16 in 60 glorious minutes. Sen didn’t corner Shifeng, he just used the corners to show the Chinese up.
Sen broke a three match losing streak to the Chinese in fact, which had begun at the All England last year. He breaks the tie to go up 8-7.
Coach Vimal Kumar after Sen's win over Li Shifeng
"Lakshya set a scorching pace from the very beginning, completely unsettling Li Shi Feng. Whenever Li showed a semblance of a comeback — especially during brief phases when Lakshya slowed down — Lakshya quickly raised the tempo again, mixing superb attack with rock-solid defence. His balance between offence and defence was outstanding today. Even after coming through some very tough earlier matches, Lakshya showed no signs of fatigue and maintained his intensity throughout. It was a match of the highest quality, and Lakshya stayed mentally and physically strong to see it through with great authority."
(Via Shivani Naik)
Curious case of Koki Watanabe, the shortest badminton player in men’s Top 100, a challenger with tall dreams
The reason not many talk about him is because there is always so much to talk about his defeated opponents. His unassuming, unintimidating stature might play a part in him staying in the shadow since he is only Japanese No 4 in rankings, and not particularly consistent. But the opponents’ losses wail away in the wind, and steal his little thunders. Like Lee Zii Jia who lost thrice to him, and had three different elaborately wretched tales – injury, exhaustion, loss of motivation – to explain them away. Everything but Koki’s own sparky play.
This could be a fun match actually between two contrasting shuttlers. Shivani Naik chips in:
Kunlavut Vitidsarn had always stolen the March over his 2018 batchmates, but in eliminating Li Shifeng and with Kodai Naraoka perished early, Lakshya Sen has made up for lost time - due to injuries, and lined up for the All E semis, with Lin Chun-Yi making Last 4 too due to play Kunlavut.
Sen's opponent is awaited and it could well be the Scarborough born Victor Lai. Koki Watanabe, one of the shortest shuttlers on the top circuit, is no pushover though.
Here's how the men's singles draw has shaped up. Only seeded player in the semifinal, that would be Kunlavut Vitidsarn. Lakshyaa Sen has eliminated two seeds on his way to the semis, in top seed Shi Yu Qi and sixth seed Li Shi Feng. It is now between Koki Watanabe and Victor Lai to see who takes on Lakshya.
Shivani Naik: Liang-Wang have lost to JoaqIndra. The Indonesians are carrying the famous Grumpy Horse Labubu. But all the glee is their's
We will keep an eye on Court 2 now for the next men's singles quarterfinal to see who faces Lakshya tomorrow. It will be either Koki Watanabe of Japan or Victor Lai of Canada.
Meanwhile, here's Shivani Naik with a doubles tidbit: Wang Chang, the Chinese doubles player, came to All England on the back of a marriage proposal reel that went viral because it combined two of China's biggest passions - badminton and TT, as his partner, is a top paddler.
The cake was a three tier strawberry
Lakshya has been defying the head-to-head records all week in Birmingham.
Ended the run of 3 defeats in the last 3 matches against Shi Feng today.
Ended the run of 3 defeats against Ng Ka Long Angus over his career.
Arrested the run of 4 defeats on the BWF World Tour against Shi Yuqi.
Here's how the 2nd game panned out.
Finalist in 2022, semifinalist in 2024, back in the semifinals in 2026. Lakshya Sen loves the All England.
LAKSHYA SEN IS INTO THE SEMIFINALS! One of the most extraordinary misses you will ever see. Lakshya had given up on the rally but Li Shifeng puts the shuttle long as he overhit the smash from net. Horror miss. Lakshya has a wry smile before he rushes to the net to embrace his opponent and lets out a roar.
Oh that's a tame end to a good rally from Li as he nets a backhand and Lakshya has four match points.
Another brutal rally! 45-shot exchange that time and Lakshya is under defensive pressure here, looks a bit tired in that rally. A dive forward doesn't pay off. He can't afford a drop off like yesterday, Li won't be as kind as Angus iin the decider.
The scoreboard pressure starting to tell on Li Shifeng as he makes a couple of errors and Lakshya is now two points away.Then it is Lakshya's turn to make a soft error as he nets a simple crosscourt and Coach Yoo has his hands on his heads.
A crosscourt backhand block to a crosscourt smash. That was a ridiculous shot from Lakshya! Completely caught Li Shifeng by surprise as he made his move to the net in anticipation of a regular block.
How has Lakshya won that point? Great defending from the Indian, lunging on both flanks to keep the shuttle alive and Li cannot believe he has missed the smash. And almost desperately reviews it and loses both of his challenges for this game.
Getting to a point where the finishing serves will start getting to Lakshya and he has to be mindful.
But if he plays shots like that, he should be fine. Deligthful crosscourt half smash winner that Coach Yoo really enjoyed too.
Li Shifeng with a stinging body smash that Lakshya had no chance returning that.
Li really enjoyed that one, trying to fire himself up there.
Li Shifeng's turn to burn a review on the sidelines as he goes for a smash to Lakshya's backhand and misses it.
Mind you, this is a good position to be in for Lakshya without a doubt, but it is in the backend of the second game where he lost all the momentum against Ng Ka Long yesterday.
Another longish rally right out of the interval (where Lakshya, as we have seen recently, was getting a lot of massaging on his thighs from coach Yoo) and Lakshya's challenging a backhand block that he thinks landed in. Nope, landed quite well wide.
Lakshya Sen ups the pace once more, and at 10-10, pulls off a superb inside out smash winner to Li's backhand and takes a 1-point lead into the mid-game interval of the second game. Crucial couple of points there as the momentum started to shift towards Li.
Super rally again! A super fast flat exchange and Li once again does really wwell to ocme out of it witjh the upper hand.
The Chinese star into the lead in Game 2 now.
Another beautiful rally. Great net exchange in the middle of that rally. Lakshya comes out of it with some defensive pressure to deal with, does so well with a couple of the backhands and getting back up quickly with that explosive speed he has, but eventually he is wrong-footed by an inside out smash by Li.
And a mistake at the backcourt from Lakshya, lets the shuttle drop in when he could have easily playe it. We are all level again.
We get the sometimes annoying side-angle view for this rally but in this case it gives us a lovely view of Lakshya's deception at the net as he lets the shuttle drop down a tad bit lower and sends a touch dribbling over the net.
And Li Shifeng has caught up quickly. That is another superb rally from these two young men. Little bit of indecision at the net from Lakshya after a flat frontcourt exchange and it eventually puts too much pressure on his defence.
Oh that is EXPLOSIVE FROM LAKSHYA! Great defending from both players when the other went on the attack, but Lakshya is so quickly off his feet after a block and is alert at the frontcourt to put away a winner.
Oh wow. What a backhand block! That is another brutal rally on both players, but it is Lakshya's defence that comes through once more. Li Shifeng is a bit stunned how that inside out smash came back. Lakshya's backhand block is perfect as it touches the top of the net and falls dead on the other side.
LAKSHYA SEN! A 46-shot rally won by the Indian by rushing to the net but before that, plenty of defending to do. A full 360-degree after hitting a backhand block, Chou Tie Chen like.
Li needs more of that if he can make a comeback in this match. He guesses rightly on defence to a full blooded jump smash from Lakshya, sends the backhand to keep the shuttle in play and then pulls off a brutal smash himself to take a 2-1 lead.
Make that 3-1 as he makes Lakshya work really hard on defence once more.Good early signs form the Chinese star in this game.
Lakshya then clocks in with a lovely reverse slice winner once more! That is such a delightful bit of deception. And the Indian catches up with another hold and flick to the deep forehand corner.
Here's how the opening game panned out.
Lakshya Sen lost a 65-shot rally at the end of which he looked exhausted.
But Lakshya Sen didn't lose a point in Game 1 after that.
Sensational reverse slice winner as he takes the lead on a run of 6 straight points. Brilliant from the Indian!
Lakshya has 7 game points after a superb winner.
Lakshya has responded superbly to losing that long rally. A couple of really sharp winners, some great net shots and he has raced ahead after losing that 65-shot rally where he had looked worryingly exhausted.
POINT OF THE MATCH! Sensational defence from Lakshya early on to stay alive, returning a forehand smash and then standing up quickly to send a defensive backhand back in play. But both players tire and eventually Lakshya lets the shuttle drop in at the backline.
This match is simmering nicely, Lakshya Sen does superbly in defence but eventually a bruising rally goes Li Shifeng's way. 65 shots!
Lakshya looks at the umpire after Li rushes to the net for a backhand kill and the net wobbles a bit. But replays show it was absolutely perfectly timed and the shuttle hit the top of the tape.
Ooohhh, Li Shifeng's smashes are starting to spring into life now! That's his superstrength, the power in the forearms that he possesses for those explosive backcourt winners. He nails that, inside out to Lakshya's backhand, twice in a row.
A fist pump from Lakshya because he was under pressure. Li with a super aggressive point, his power coming to the fore and getting Lakshya to scramble. Lakshya does well to send the shuttle back from the backcourt and then Li makes an error.
Lakshya follows that up with a lovely deceptive winner at the net. Yoo doubles special, reckon the commmentators. And the Indian hits a super straight smash to Li's forehand and it is reviewed by Li.... and it is in by the smallest of margins.
Li has no challenges remaining.
That is going to give Li some confidence. A super precise overhead smash to Lakshya's forehand flank for a precise winner. Lakshya goes for a similar shot but is deemed to have just missed the line. Lakshya reviews and it is a lost challenge. Well wide that one.
Li is closing in now.
Well, as we say that, a couple of unforced errors from Lakshya. And a little bit of indecision at the backline.
But Lakshya wins the next rally for a five-point lead at the midgame interval. It was Li actually getting the better of the attacks in the rally but Lakshya's defence to the fore and then Li makes the error at the net.
Terrific rally from Lakshya again for a 10-4 lead. "Li looks unsure where he is going to win the point," says Clark. Lakshya is controlling the rallies from all corners of the court at the moment, and Li is just reacting. The attacks have been sharp but the consistency in shot quality is winning Lakshya a lot of these early points.
Li Shifeng seems to have just missed the sideline with his inside out smash and wants to review... but it is well wide. Unsucessful review. Lakshya keeping his nose ahead in these early exchanges.
A sppedy excahnge for the 10th point and Lakshya's smash to Li's forehand is so sharp that it doesn't come back. Coach Yoo Yong Sung is happy with what he's seeing. "He's moving very smoothly," remarks Gill Clark on air.
Lakshya's movement is sharp in these early exchanges. A high tempo exchange at the net and he kills it from the frontcourt. A mistake from Lakshya, the first of the math, gives Li the serve at 2-4. But Lakshya gets it back with a beautiful half smash to Li's forehand flank.
Lovely first point from Lakshya. A nice backhand touch at the net setting up a smash winner to Li's backhand side.
Oh, what a rally and what a winner for the second point. Patient from both players and then Lakshya pulls off a backhand hold and flick, shaping to hit a touch to the net but hitting to the backcourt for a perfect winner.
Lakshya won the toss and opts for the side nearest to us on the broadcast. There hasn't been too much advantage from either side so far this week, the conditions have largely been even.
Lakshya to serve as well. Here we go.
t's time. Lakshya Sen vs Li Shi Feng. Two men who have known each other for a long time. Repeat of last year's quarterfinal as well. If both of them can bring their best, this should be a cracking match.
Lakshya loves playing in Birmingham. He has had a good record in this city, having reached the All England final once and also the city where his Commonwealth Games gold medal came.
The players walk out on court, and the decibel check tells you both men will be well supported.
Here we go then, the second session of quarterfinals day is upon us.
The countdown begins for the players to enter...
The last meeting between Lakshya and Li Shifeng was the final of Hong Kong Open last year, just around the time Lakshya's form had started to turn for the better. But Li Shifeng was the better player on the day.
Lakshya and Li Shifeng have known each other for a long time. They were the finalists at the Youth Olympic Games in 2018 in Buenos Aires. In that final, Li had prevailed in two games and won gold. Lakshya, Li, Kunlavut Vitidsarn and Kodai Naraoka have all graduated from that wonderful junior batch and achieved plenty already at the senior level.
Like we said earlier, this is the second straight year that Lakshya and Li Shifeng are contesting the All England quarterfinal. Mind you, Li Shifeng has already won the All England title once too. Here's how three of the last four meetings have panned between the two. Twice they have been drawn out three-game affairs. All England, however, was a straight-games win for Li Shifeng.
Lakshya Sen vs Ng Ka Long was really one for the highlight reels. It was filled with some wonderful rallies.
Only three out of the top 8 seeds in the tournament in men's singles made it to the quarterfinals. And among them, one has already been eliminated in Christo Popov. Vitidsarn, the second seed, is safely through to the semis. And Lakshya is tasked with facing the sixth seed now. A reminder that match will start at 10.30pm IST, it's the first match of the second session on the main court.
As we wait for the start of the match, watch some of the best points from Lakshya's win against the world No 1.
Which Indian players have won the All England?
Only two shuttlers from India in the storied history of the tournament have won the All England Open.
Prakash Padukone: 1980
Pullela Gopichand: 2001
In recent past, the only Indians to have come close are Saina Nehwal (2015) and Lakshya Sen himself in 2022.
Why is All England special? Read more here.
The emotion of his win has crystallised into a clear perspective. “What’s so special about All England?” some current players ask. “Since I won it, I’ll say it’s a big deal!” Gopichand laughs but understands why it might not hold the same reverence today. It’s the closest that badminton has to a storied chronicle, a tapestry that goes back considerable years. With year-round events that are annual Hamster wheels, very few tournaments still enjoy the legacy or history, with enduring tales of a Rudy Hartono and his keep-on-keeping-on wins year after year.
Belting smashes that generated power from his forearm and catapult-wrist, Lakshya Sen caused a furore at the All England, defeating China’s World No. 1, Shi Yuqi, 23-21, 19-21, 21-17 in Birmingham on Tuesday.
Beating Yuqi, the reigning world title holder and defending champion, Sen emulated his former coach Prakash Padukone, who had taken out the incumbent Liem Swi King of Indonesia in 1978. But it was in how Sen flummoxed the Chinese master of deception, Yuqi, with his own elastic wrists, generating disguises both ways, that his biggest win (yet) will be remembered.
The 78-minute match was a lot about the physicality in retrieving and sticking in there. But it was mostly about the fearlessness to finish from an advantageous position, something that Sen had not managed on the biggest stages yet, costing him medals.
“I’ve been in the same situation a couple of times and lost, but I pulled out this one in the end. It used to be just a matter of last few points. The only thing I prepared for before this tournament was the closing stages, working on how patient I am against him. If I had rushed, he had experience of finishing off close games,” Sen would tell BWF, adding that his ‘underdog tag’ helped.
Read more from Shivani about Lakshya's win against the world No 1.
A look at the overall numbers for Lakshya v Li Shifeng.
“Very solid game in both sets. Also credit to him. He made a solid comeback on the second. And I just didn’t play freely towards the end of the second set. And just gave too many easy shots for him to kill. But I was prepared in the third set, to go all out,” he told BWF. “Tactically I was playing the right game in both sets. But the last few points I didn’t stick to the plan. Gave away too many easy ones,” he added.
It’s what brought him down against Shifeng the last time they met. “Tomorrow is another even match, or I’d put it at 60-40 to Lakshya if he plays like this, and uses half smashes judiciously,” Vimal says. “He’s OK playing Shifeng, but had hurried after he was way up last time (Sen was 16-10 up in the second before losing 21-14, 22-24, 11-21 at China Open). He hurried. But at All England he is looking overall cool, composed. He’s keeping the same tempo. The shuttles are good so he’s stroking freely,” he adds.
Shivani Naik
On Friday, he plays Chinese Li Shifeng, his batchmate whom he led 7-4 in head to head before All England of 2025, and is now tied at 7-7. Against Angus, Sen broke a 0-3 jinx. Can he stem the tide, when playing the World No.6? Can Sen respond to having lost the lead he once held over Shifeng, just like he yanked things back in the third set?
Coach Vimal Kumar offers an insight. “It’s a pattern I’ve noticed,” he says after Sen frittered 4 match points from 20-17 up against Angus. “Right after Lakshya has played 4-5 outstanding points, he has a tendency to play 1 or 2 casual shots. Actually it becomes a string of casual points. And then the anxiety drains him out, and he’s lost. It shows in the body language, and he looked dejected after losing the second 21-23.”
By Shivani Naik
Shivani Naik recaps Lakshya's round-of-16 win:
The anomaly, the distraction, the foot off the pedal, the missed chance of the second set, didn't cost Lakshya Sen anything more than 17 more minutes on the court. The Indian, on a stomp since he evicted top seed Shi Yuqi from Round 1, was back on the All England show court, looking ominous, as he defeated NG Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong, 21-19, 21-23, 21-10 in a contest that looked lopsided in the end.
In making yet another quarterfinals at his favourite tournament - Sen has a final and semifinal at the Super 1000 - the Indian ranked No 12 finally put it across an old nemesis, the Hong Kong 31-year-old having been undefeated in three prior games.
And welcome to our continued live coverage of Indian badminton. It's a big one today, our focus is on the All England Open quarterfinals, where Lakshya Sen will be hoping to keep India's hopes alive. He takes on a familiar foe in Li Shifeng. Lakshya and Li Shifeng are taking on each other for the second time in two years at this very stage of the All England.
Match starts at 10.30 pm, stay tuned for all the build-up to the game.
How Lakshya Sen goes from leading 17-11, 19-14 to losing the second set 21-23, is in the realms of speculation or snakes-and-ladder on a badminton court. That’s effectively a net 4-11 points from a very advantageous position straight into the ditch.
But like a good doctor would tell you, they can’t keep the rains from raining down, they can only arm you with a sturdy umbrella. So what India’s shuttler-in-need-of-Sherlock and his massively varied coaching team have done is try to respond to these familiar lapses by staying solid in the third. NG Ka Long Angus must’ve expected Sen to crumble after one of his usual blunderings took the All England Round 2 into the decider. Because he had slumped at the Olympics (twice), and myriad other tournaments. But Sen played an absolutely laser-focussed third set, to win 21-19, 21-23, 21-10 and defeat the opponent from Hong Kong, aged 31, ranked 29 to reach quarterfinals. (READ MORE)
