Lin Chun Yui Denies Lakshya Sen's All England Dream Again

All England Open 2026: India's star shuttler Lakshya Sen lost to World No.11 Lin Chun Yui of Chinese Taipei in the men's singles final of the All England Open Badminton championships 2026 on Sunday, in a 57-minute match ending 15-21, 21-22. This marks Sen's fifth consecutive loss to Lin.

With this defeat, Sen missed out on making history yet again.

Hailing from Almora, Lakshya was playing in his second All England summit clash, having also finished as runner-up in the 2022 final.

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Earlier, Sen defeated Victor Lai of Canada—bronze medallist at the World Championship in Paris last year—21-16, 18-21, 21-15. Lin Chun Yui reached the final after beating Kunlavit Vitidsarn 21-14, 18-21, 21-16 in the semifinals.

Prakash Padukone, who has been Sen's mentor, reached the All England final in 1980 and 1981, winning the title in 1980.

Padukone and Pullela Gopichand remain the only two Indian shuttlers to have won the All England title, with Gopichand earning his victory in 2001.

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Outside of the winners, Prakash Nath (runner-up, 1947) and Saina Nehwal (runner-up, 2015) are the only other Indians to have finished as runners-up at the All England.