What: Lakshya Sen vs Lee Zii Jia, All England men's singles semifinal.
When: Sometime after 7.30 pm on Saturday, March 19.
Where to watch: Streaming on Voot Select or watch it on History TV18 HD channel.
On Friday evening, Lakshya Sen did something he hadn't all week. Sit in the Utilita Arena stands in Birmingham and watch a match. On Court 1 were his two prospective semifinal opponents - Lee Zii Jia and Kento Momota.
Lakshya had a sort of anti-climactic passage into the last-four. Hours before their quarterfinal match, his Chinese opponent Lu Guang Zu withdrew with a back injury. It brought up his first-ever semifinal appearance in Birmingham. Probably not with the celebratory flourish he pictured in his head but he was glad to take it either way. Now, Lakshya finds himself fast-forwarded into an encounter against reigning All England champion, Zii Jia, who pummeled an off-colour Momota for the greater part of their quarterfinal.
The last time Lakshya and Zii Jia faced each other in an official tournament was way back in 2016, at the India International Series. Lakshya had won that match. That was also the year that Zii Jia, and other Malaysian players, came to India as part of an exchange program with the Prakash Padukone Academy in Bengaluru. Lakshya was among the small flock of Indian players who sparred with Zii Jia.
They've both branched out in their ways since (though they keep track of each other; in January, when Zii Jia was briefly banned by his national federation for deciding to turn pro, Lakshya was quick to express support on social media.) Zii Jia, who turns 24 this year, is a couple of years older to Lakshya and broke into the big league a few steps sooner. He won in Birmingham last year and is ranked seven in the world. Lakshya isn't too far behind. He stepped up hugely in the closing half of last year and is a Worlds medallist, and after Thursday's quarterfinals moved up to be ranked just two spots below Zii Jia.
Zii Jia is an athletic, ruthless attacker with a quiver full of rip-roaring winners. Lakshya may have to restrict the lifts and draw Zii Jia more to the net, so the Malaysian is robbed of the smashes and the fancy attacks. Zii Jia was a step slow in moving up to the net on more than a few occasions against Momota, and the latter also used his low flicks to shore up a few points while mounting a fleeting resistance in the second game. Lakshya, watching from the stands, would have been taking notes. Much like he has done so far, Lakshya will need to stay in the rallies even if they lengthen, use his hard smashes and half smashes well and think on his feet.
When asked how he looks at Lakshya as an opponent standing in the way of his march into the final, Zii Jia listed the roll-call of top players the Indian has beaten so far, most recently Viktor Axelsen and Anders Antonsen. He and the rest of the badminton world have been watching. "He (Lakshya) has performed really well as a young player. He is getting there...he is going to become one of the top players," he said. Zii Jia goes into this encounter as a favourite on account of being the reigning champion and the manner of his bragging win over Momota a day ago. But he wouldn't want to take his semifinal opponent any lightly. Lakshya has the street smarts and a cool head for a scrap. Zii Jia would surely know that he's up against a guy whose recent victories over big players was no blip.